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BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 


THE  LIBRARY 


OF 


THE 


OF 


UNIVERSITY 
CALIFORNIA 


l<  ''^^       —A^  CH^t 


HISTORY 


OF  THE 

UNION  PACIFIC  RAILROAD 


ISSUED  BY  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  RAIL- 
ROAD ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE 
CELEBRATION  AT  OGDEN. UTAH. MAY 
!Oth.  1919,  IN  COMMEMORATION  OF 
THE  50th  anniversary  OF  THE 
DRIVING  OF  THE  GOLDEN  SPIKE 


INTRODUCTORY 

HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  RAILROAD 


HE  purpose  of  this  paper  is  to  review  briefly  the 
history  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad.  The  nar- 
rative has  been  confined  to  the  simplest  recital  of 
events,  and  dates  surrounding  them,  with  passing 
mention  of  a  few  prominent  characters. 

Limitation  of  space  has  made  it  necessary  to  exclude  from 
these  pages  deserved  mention  of  many  thrilling  events  of 
early  frontier  experiences,  giving  only  such  retrospection  as 
will  quickly  recall  the  circumstances  prompting  the  promotion 
of  the  Pacific  railways;  dealing  as  impressionably  as  we  are 
able  with  the  construction,  completion  and  opening  of  the 
line  for  business. 

It  is,  therefore,  not  a  treatise  but  a  paper,  not  a  polar, 
solar  glare,  but  a  flash-light,  not  a  bridge,  but  the  first  stepping- 
stone  ;  more  concise  than  complete,  more  prosaic  than  scintil- 
lating, more  of  the  why  than  the  what; — it  is  not  the  sum  but 
the  substance  of  what  should  first  be  known. 

In  its  preparation,  we  have  been  taken  directly  and 
appreciably  to  the  source  of  historic  truths  by  reference  to 
the  research  of  others  who  have  written  carefully  and  interest- 
ingly on  this  subject,  and  have  been  helped  by  privileged 
access  to  the  private  papers  and  bound  volumes  that  have 
been  preserved  and  published,  for  which  grateful  acknowledg- 
ment is  hereby  made. 


For  description  of  ''The  Great  Railroad  Wedding  — 
Driving  the  Golden  Spike/'  see  Appendix  ''D/'  page  39. 


6  9  q^s" 


BANCROn 
LIBRARY 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

THE  ''Louisiana  Purchase'*  of   1803  seems  to  have   been    the   first 
awakening  of  the  people  of  that  day  to  the  importance  of  the  great 
Trans-Mississippi  country.    An  investment  of  fifteen  milUon  dollars 
(the  price  paid  the  French  Government),  had  brought  them  to  a  feeling 
of  direct  personal  interest  in  this  va^t,   unexplored  territory. 

Under  the  encouragement  of  President  Jefferson,  and  the  authority 
of  Congress,  the  Lewis  &  Clark  Expedition  was  authorized  and 
made  ready  in  the  spring  of  1804.  The  alluring  reports  made  on  their 
return,  two  years  later,  prompted  public  men,  press-writers  and  adven- 
turers to  further  exploitation  of  this  "frontier." 

Very  soon  the  cupidity  of  men  in  commercial  life  —  always  res- 
ponsive— was  touched;  John  Jacob  Astor  associated  with  Wilson  Price 
Hunt  and  Donald  McKenzie  in  a  fur-trading  expedition,  called  the 
"Pacific  Fur  Company."  This  Astor  party  left  Montreal  on  July  15, 
1810,  proceeding  up  the  Ottawa  River,  via  Lake  Huron,  to  Mackinaw, 
where  Ramsey  Crooks,  the  future  president  of  the  American  Fur  Trad- 
ing Company,  joined  them.  Their  route  took  them  to  Green  Bay, 
down  the  Fox  River  and  across  to  the  Wisconsin,  down  t,  via  Prairie 
du  Chien  and  the  Mississippi  River,  to  St.  Louis,  where  they  were 
joined  by  Robert  McClellan,  a  business  partner  of  Crooks*,  and  by  John 
Day.  Their  party  of  about  sixty  people,  then  complete,  moved  up  the 
Missouri  River  to  "The  Land  of  the  Dakotas" ;  thence  westward  over- 
land to  a  tidewater  terminal  called  Astoria,  founded  by  Duncan 
McDougal,  on  April  12,  181  1. 

McDougal  had  sailed  from  New  York  with  Captain  Jonathan  Thorne, 
commander  of  the  "unfortunate  Tonquin,"  on  September  8,  1810. 
After  a  voyage  of  more  than  twelve  thousand  miles  around  Cape  Horn, 
they  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River  nine  months  ahead 
of  the  McKenzie  branch  of  the  overland  party,  which  did  not  reach 
Astoria  until  January  18,  1812;  Hunt  and  his  division,  on  February 
15,  1812;  the  belated  party  of  John  Day  and  Ramsey  Crooks  brought 
up  the  rear  on  May  11,  1812,  after  a  bitter  experience,  privation,  suffer- 
ing and  banditti  abuse.  f-f  frC2^ 

While  a  band  of  French  Canadians  had,  during  the  closing  years  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  preceded  westward  as  far  as  the  foot  hills  of 
the  Rockies,  the  assertion  is  still  safe,  we  think,  that  these  returning 
"Astors"  made  the  first  careful  observations  of  the  Platte  Valley  Route 


4  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

during  the  spring  of  1813,  having  traversed  the  Platte  River  district 
from  eastern  Wyoming  through  to  Plattsmouth,  on  the  Missouri  River. 
After  the  Astors  came  Alexander  Henry;  then  Major  Long,  with  his 
''scientists,"  who  left  Kanesville  (Council  Bluffs),  in  June,  1820,  and 
pushed  through  to  the  mountains.  Comes  now  Captain  Bonneville, 
rescued  from  the  "wide-spread,  insatiable  maw  of  oblivion"  by  the  facile 
pen  of  one  of  our  country's  greatest  historians,  Washington  Irving,  who 
was  resourceful  enough  to  build  up  a  volume  concerning  this  profitless 
and  unimportant  expedition,  dealing  with  it  more  generously  and  in- 
geniously than  will  be  ever  attempted  again,  f  for  Bonneville's  trip  was 
fifteen  years  too  late  to  discover  anything  new  or  particularly  interesting 
about  the  Rocky  Mountain  region.  Long  since,  the  country  had  been 
conquered  and  occupied  by  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  the  American  Fur 
Company  and  the  Missouri,  Rocky  Mountain  and  Hudson  Bay  Fur 
Companies,  who  had  established  themselves  advantageously  over  its 
richest  fur  furnishing  fields;  they  penetrated  to  the  Salt  Lake  Valley,  and 
in  1826,  Jedediah  S.  Smith,  prominent  in  the  western  affairs  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company  of  St.  Louis,  had  already  connected  the 
''Oregon  Trail"  with  the  Salt  Lake  Route  via  the  Colorado  River,  across 
the  Mojave  Desert  to  the  lower  coast,  and  later,  with  a  more  direct  route 
to  San  Francisco  across  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains.  Then  came  Amer- 
ica's most  observing  pathfinder,  John  C.  Fremont,  in  1842.  All  of  these 
attracted  the  country's  further  attention  to  the  Central  Railway  route, 
the  national  highway  which  serves  the  present  and  commemorates  the 
past. 

The  hardships,  dangers  and  distances  of  these  expeditions  reminded 
the  people  of  the  East  again  of  the  remoteness  of  their  new  purchase, 
the  circuitousness  of  inland  waterways,  and  turned  their  thoughts  to 
some  sort  of  transcontinental  transportation. 

Travelers  and  traders  of  the  earlier  years  of  the  old  century  had  been 
in  search  of  an  easier  pass  through  the  mountain  region,  somewhere 
south  of  the  Lewis  &  Clark  trail  of  1804-5.  Andrew  Henry  and  William 
H.  Ashley,  founders  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Fur  Company,  at  St.  Louis, 
were  the  first  to  carry  their  fur  trading  operations  to  the  Pacific  Coast. 

To  William  H.  Ashley  and  his  lieutenant,  Entienne  Provost,  stands 
unmistakably  the  credit  of  the  discovery  of  a  southern  pass,  later  known 
as  the  "South  Pass,"  in  the  fall  and  winter  of  1823-4,  while  exploring 
along  the  Sweetwater  Trail.  It  opened  the  Continental  Divide,  near  the 
source  of  the  Sweetwater  River  in  Fremont  County,  western  Wyoming; 
it  marked  the  opening  of,  and  made  permanent,  the  mountain  crossing 

fWhy  Washington  Irving  should  have  paused  so  long  at  this  Bonneville  shrine 
is  beyond  the  discernment  of  his  present-day  readers. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  5 

route  of  the  famous/'Oregon  Trail."  It  has  been  to  the  Rocky  Mountain 
country  all  that  the  Cumberland  Gap  ever  meant  to  the  people  east  of 
the  Alleghenies. 

So  much  for  the  South  Pass  Route,  which  attracted  the  locating 
parties  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  in  later  years. 

With  the  Oregon  controversy  over,  and  its  boundary  dispute  with 
Canada  settled,  the  acquisition  of  California  from  Mexico,  in  I848» 
the  Mormon  settlement  of  Utah,  and  the  discovery  of  gold  on  the  West- 
ern Coast,  the  demand  for  quicker  communication  than  then  possible, 
around  the  Horn,  across  the  Isthmus,  by  overland  freighting,  staging 
or  pony- express,  was  intensified,  and  Congress  was  urged  to  greater 
activity. 

As  far  back  in  our  history  as  1819,  Robert  Mills,  of  Virginia,  is 
found  pressing  the  necessity  of  a  cross-country  railway  to  the  attention 
of  the  people  of  that  day,  and  later  to  Congress.  He  suggested  the 
use,  if  practicable,  of  land-steamers,  or  '*steam  propelled  carriages  for 
quickened  service  across  the  continent,  to  run  from  the  head-waters  of 
inland  navigation  westward  over  a  direct  route  to  the  Pacific." 

This,  please  note,  was  eight  years  before  the  successful  application 
of  steam  power  to  carrying-use  anywhere  in  this  country. 

Then  followed  what  was  known  as  the  '^Western  Movement," 
toward  the  ''Back-lands,"  or  the  'Tndian  Country,"  narrowed  down 
now  to  an  area  of  less  than  sixty-five  thousand  square  miles,  or  to  the 
Indian  Territory  of  today;  all  this,  too,  within  a  brief  period  of  eighty 
years,  or  less,  under  the  civilizing  influences  of  rapid  transportation  and 
communication. 

One  promoter's  proposition  after  another  followed  and  failed.  While 
citizens  John  Plumbe,  of  Dubuque,  Iowa,  Asa  Whitney,  a  merchant  of 
New  York,  the  Honorable  Butler  S.  King,  General  Robinson,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, Hosmer,  of  Ohio,  Pierce,  of  Indiana,  Thomas  H.  Benton,  and  others 
had  pioneered  in  this  project  for  a  Pacific  railway,  the  consistent  and 
persistent  pursuit  of  such  men  as  Senators  Salmon  P.  Chase,  and  Wade, 
of  Ohio,  Gwin,  McDougal  and  Latham,  of  California,  Harlan,  of  Iowa, 
Lyman  Trumbull  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  of  Illinois,  and  many  others, 
prominent  in  the  councils  of  both  the  Senate  and  Lower  House,  work- 
ing together,  brought  this  splendid  enterprise  to  a  point  of  Government 
initiative. 

Congress  had  been  frequently  memorialized,  but  what  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  had  previously  done  to  encourage  the  building  of  the  Illinois 
Central  Railway,  seemingly,  prepared  the  public  mind  for  the  provisional 
measures  to  follow  and  served  as  a  solvent  of  difficulties,  many  and 


6  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

multiform,  to  be  met  with  in  promoting  the  necessary  land  and  bond- 
aiding  measures  of  succeeding  years. 

Trans-Missouri  tribes  were  being  rapidly  dispossessed,  displaced, 
and  replaced  on  reservations;  Indian  wars  among  the  tribes  and  with 
the  whites  were  nearing  an  end;  the  public  domain  was  fast  falling  under 
private  control  and  cultivation;  the  arid,  inhospitable,  desert  reclaimed 
under  an  easy  arrangement  of  purchase — the  "West''  had  become  a 
relative  term,  and  the  whole  country  was  restive  over  its  inaccessible- 
ness. 

The  initial  step  in  the  direction  of  Pacific  railway  building  was  the 
success  of  a  bill  submitted  to  Congress  in  1853,  by  Senator  Salmon  P. 
Chase,  of  Ohio,  providing  for  a  survey  of  four  routes  to  the  Pacific 
Coast,  then  under  serious  consideration: 

First:  A  line  from  the  Upper  Mississippi  to  Puget  Sound — 
Major  Stevens  in  charge  of  the  survey. 

Second:  A  line  along  the  36th  parallel,  through  Walker's  Pass 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  to  strike  the  Coast  at  San  Diego,  Los 
Angeles  or  San  Pedro — under  direction  of  Lieutenant  Whipple. 

Third:  A  line  through  the  Rocky  Mountains  near  the  head- 
waters of  the  Rio  del  Norte  and  Hueferno  River,  emerging  at  Great 
Salt  Lake  Basin — Captain  Gunnison  in  charge. 

Fourth:  A  line  along  the  32d  parallel,  via  El  Paso  and  the 
Colorado  River,  to  strike  the  Pacific  somewhere  in  lower  California. 

Jefferson  Davis,  then  Secretary  of  War,  evidently  on  his  own  motion, 
sent  five  other  engineering  corps  into  this  field;  their  reconnaissance  to 
cover,  first,  the  ''Northern  Route"  of  the  47th  to  the  49th  parallel,  north 
latitude;  the  second,  an  "Overland  Route,"  between  parallels  41  and  42 — 
also  known  as  the  "Central"  or  "Mormon  Route."  The  third  was  along  the 
39th  parallel,  called  the  "Buffalo  Trail."  The  fourth  was  along  the 
route  of  the  35th  parallel,  and  the  fifth,  along  the  32d  parallel,  or  the 
"Southern  Route." 

Secretary  Davis  made  a  complete  report  to  Congress  of  all  this 
exploitation  under  date  of  January  27,  1855. 

This  brings  us  to  the  bill  Stephen  A.  Douglas  proposed  and  pro- 
moted in  the  34th  Congress  in  January,  1855;  sustaining  it  he  said, 
among  other  good  things,  "If  we  intend  to  extend  our  commerce,  if  we 
intend  to  make  the  great  ports  of  the  World  tributary  to  our  worth 
******  we  must  penetrate  to  the  Pacific." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  7 

The  Douglas  Bill  proposed  three  routes  to  the  Coast,  one  via  El 
Paso  and  the  Colorado  River,  to  be  called  "The  Southern  Pacific;*' 
another  from  the  Iowa  border  to  be  called  the  ''Central  Pacific;'*  another 
to  the  north  to  be  called  the  "Northern  Pacific." 

It  is  well  worthy  of  note  that  the  terms  he  used,  descriptive  of  these 
three  routes,  endure  and  stand  today  as  titles  for  the  three  trunk  lines 
finally  built. 

Subsequent  surveys  were  to  determine  the  most  acceptable  route 
of  the  three  suggested. 

His  measure  found  the  approval  of  a  joint  committee  of  both  houses, 
succeeded  in  the  Senate,  but  failed  of  passage  in  the  House. 

The  distinguishing  feature  of  the  Douglas  plan  was  that  it  not 
only  proposed,  but  liberally  provided  for  what   was   to   be   undertaken. 

The  years  between  1850  and  1860  "marked  a  period  of  storm  and 
stress  in  which  sectionalism  and  localism  were  engaged  in  drawing  and 
quartering  Pacific  railway  measures."! 

The  accomplishment  of  a  transcontinental  railway,  however,  seemed 
predestined   to  await   the  emergencies  of  civil  war,   which   soon  came. 

The  ordinance  of  secession,  done  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina, 
on  December  20,  1860  and  the  retirement  of  its  several  sister  states 
that  quickly  followed,  silenced  further  sectional  opposition. 

Congress,  then  freer  to  act,  and  supported  by  declarations  of  all 
party  platforms  favoring  transportation  development  in  the  West,  was 
brought  to  a  serious  consideration  of  the  Enabling  Act,  remembered  as 
House  Roll  364 — a  blend  of  all  the  better  features  of  bills  proposed  by 
Senators  Stephen  A.  Douglas  and  Washburn  of  Illinois,  Congressman 
Samuel  R.  Curtis  of  Iowa,  Rollins  of  New  Hampshire,  and  others. 
"364"  passed  the  United  States  Senate,  as  amended,  on  June  20,  1862, 
Senate's  amendments  concurred  in  by  the  House  on  June  25th,  and 
became  a  law  over  the  signature  of  President  Lincoln  on  July  1 ,  1 862. 
(Congressional  Globe  says  July  2,  1862.) 

This  act  created  the  "Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company,"  which  cor- 
poration was  "authorized  and  empowered  to  lay  out,  locate,  construct, 
furnish,  maintain,  and  enjoy  a  continuous  railroad  and  telegraph,  with 
the  appurtenances,  from  a  point  on  the  100th  meridian  of  longitude 
west  from  Greenwich,  between  the  south  margin  of  the  valley  of  the 
Republican  River  and  the  north  margin  of  the  valley  of  the  Platte 
River,  in  the  Territory  of  Nebraska,  to  the  western  boundary  of  Nevada 

fDavis  on  "Union  Pacific  Railway." 


8  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

Territory;  *  *  *"  and  ''granted  400  feet  of  right  of  way  through  public 
lands,  also  every  alternate  or  odd  numbered  section  of  land  to  the  amount 
of  five  alternate  sections  per  mile  on  each  side  of  the  line  within  the  limit 
of  10  miles,  not  sold  or  otherwise  disposed  of  by  the  United  States. 
*  *  *  *  Mineral  lands  excepted.  *  *  *"  It  was  also  by  this  Bill 
bond-aided  at  the  rate  of  $16,000  per  mile,  east  of  the  mountains,  pay- 
able in  gold.  These  bonds  were  a  first  mortgage  lien  on  the  property. 
It  was  further  provided  "that  for  300  miles  of  road  most  mountainous 
and  difficult  of  construction,  to-wit;  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  west- 
wardly  from  the  eastern  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  eastwardly  from  the  western  base  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
Mountains,  said  points  to  be  fixed  by  the  President  of  theUnited  States, 
the  bonds  to  be  issued  to  aid  in  the  construction  thereof  shall  be  treble 
the  number  per  mile  hereinbefore  provided,  and  the  same  shall  be  issued 
and  the  lands  herein  granted  be  set  apart  upon  the  construction  of  every 
twenty  miles  thereof,  upon  the  certificate  of  the  commissioners  as  afore- 
said, that  twenty  consecutive  miles  of  the  same  are  completed;  and 
between  the  sections  last  named  of  I  50  miles  each  the  bonds  to  be  issued 
to  aid  in  the  construction  thereof  shall  be  double  the  number  per  mile 
first  mentioned,  *****.  Provided  that  no  more  than  50,000  of 
said  bonds  shall  be  issued  under  this  act  to  aid  in  constructing  the  main 
line  of  said  road  and  telegraph." 

Section  12:  "And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  whenever  the  route 
of  said  railroad  shall  cross  the  boundary  of  any  State  or  Territory,  or 
said  meridian  of  longitude,  the  two  companies  (Central  Pacific-Union 
Pacific)  meeting  or  uniting  there,  shall  agree  upon  its  location  at  that 
point,  with  reference  to  the  most  direct  and  practicable  through  route, 
and  in  the  case  of  difference  between  them  as  to  said  location,  the 
President  of  the  United  States  shall  determine  the  said  location." 

"The  track  upon  the  entire  line  of  railroad  and  branches  shall  be 
of  uniform  width,  TO  BE  DETERMINED  BY  THE  PRESIDENT 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  SO  THAT,  WHEN  COMPLETED, 
CARS  CAN  BE  RUN  FROM  THE  MISSOURI  RIVER  TO  THE 
PACIFIC  COAST;  THE  GRADES  AND  CURVES  SHALL  NOT 
EXCEED  THE  MAXIMUM  GRADE  AND  CURVES  OF  THE 
BALTIMORE  &  OHIO  RAILROAD;  the  whole  line  of  said  railroad 
and  branches  and  telegraph  shall  be  operated  and  used  for  all  purposes 
of  communication,  travel,  and  transportation,  so  far  as  the  public  and 
government  are  concerned,  as  one  connected,  continuous  line;  and  the 
companies  herein  named  in  Missouri,  Kansas  and  California,  filing  their 
assent  to  the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  receive  and  transport  all  iron 
rails,  chairs,  spikes,  ties,  timber  and  all  materials  required  for  con- 
structing and  furnishing  said  first-mentioned  line  between  the  aforesaid 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  9 

point,  on  the  100th  meridian  of  longitude  and  western  boundary  of 
Nevada  Territory,  whenever  the  same  is  required  by  said  first-named 
company,  at  cost,  over  that  portion  of  the  roads  of  said  companies  con- 
structed under   the  provisions  of   this   act/' 

And  under  the  terms  of  Section  13  of  the  same  act,  the  Hannibal 
&  St.  Joseph  Railroad  Company  of  Missouri  was  invited  to  extend 
its  road  from  St.  Joseph,  via  Atchison,  to  connect  and  unite  with  the 
road  through  Kansas,  upon  the  same  terms  and  conditions  in  all  respects, 
and  authorized  under  these  terms  to  build  100  miles  in  length  beyond 
the  Missouri  River. 

The  same  authority  was  given  the  then  existent  "Leavenworth, 
Pawnee  &  Western   Railroad   Company  of   Kansas." 

And  under  Section  14,  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  was 
"authorized  and  required  to  construct  a  single  line  of  railroad  and 
telegraph  from  a  point  on  the  western  boundary  of  the  State  of  Iowa, 
TO  BE  FIXED  BY  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 
upon  the  most  direct  and  practicable  route  to  be  subject  to  his  approval, 
so  as  to  form  a  connection  with  the  lines  of  said  company  at  some  point 
on  the  100th  meridian,  from  the  point  of  commencement  on  the  western 
boundary  of  the  State  of  Iowa,  upon  the  same  term.s  and  conditions  in 
all  respects  as  are  contained  in  this  act  for  the  construction  of  the  said 
railroad  and  telegraph  first  mentioned;  and  the  said  Union  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  shall  complete  100  miles  of  the  road  and  telegraph 
in  this  section  provided  for,  in  two  years  after  filing  their  assent  to  the 
conditions  of  this  act,  as  by  the  terms  of  this  act  required,  and  at  the 
rate  of    100   miles   per   year   thereafter,    until    the   whole   is   completed. 

"And  whenever  there  shall  be  a  line  of  railroad  completed  through 
Minnesota  or  Iowa  to  Sioux  City,  then  the  said  Pacific  Railroad  Com- 
pany is  hereby  authorized  and  required  to  construct  a  railroad  and  tele- 
graph from  said  Sioux  City  upon  the  most  direct  and  practicable  route 
to  a  point  on,  and  so  as  to  connect  with,  the  branch  railroad  and  tele- 
graph in  this  section  hereinbefore  mentioned,  or  with  said  Railroad 
Company,  said  point  of  junction  to  be  fixed  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  not  farther  west  than  the  100th  meridian  of  longitude 
aforesaid,  and  on  the  same  terms  and  conditions  as  provided  in  this  act 
for  the  construction  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  and  to  complete  the 
same  at  the  rate  of  100  miles  per  year." 

Like  encouragement  and  aid  having  been  given  the  Central  Pacific 
Railroad  by  this  act,  it  was  required  "that  if  said  roads  are  not  completed 
so  as  to  form  a  continuous  line  of  railroad  ready  for  use  from  the  Missouri 


10  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

River  to  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Sacramento  River,  in  California, 
by  the  first  day  of  July,  1876,  the  whole  of  said  railroad  before  mentioned, 
and  to  be  constructed  under  provisions  of  this  act,  together  with  all  their 
furniture,  fixtures,  rolling  stock,  machine  shops,  lands,  tenements, 
and  hereditaments,  and  property  of  every  kind  and  character,  shall 
be   forfeited   to,    and   be   taken   possession   of,   by   the   United   States/' 

The  reasons  prompting  Congress  to  designate  definitely  some  east- 
ern limit  of  connection  between  their  Union  Pacific  creation  and  other 
lines  are  obvious.  Just  why  the  100th  meridian  was  selected,  however, 
does  not  appear,  but  to  protect  their  Union  Pacific  investment  and  give 
it  the  longest  possible  haul  on  coast  business  and  still  leave  a  proper 
radiating  distance  between  the  Missouri  River  and  a  meridian  limit 
where  lines  then  approaching  the  Missouri  River  from  the  East  might 
connect,  they  in  their  wisdom  fixed  upon  the  100th  meridian,  consider- 
ing, evidently,  that  this  was  far  enough  west  to  permit  of  such  convenient 
connection  later  on,  after  widening  the  area  of  approach  from  the  Re- 
publican to  the  Platte  River  Valley. 

Under  the  requirements  of  this  enactment  of  1862,  which  has  been 
reviewed  in  part  in  preceding  paragraphs,  the  directors  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Company  qualified  and  formally  accepted  its  terms  on  June  27, 
1863. 

On  the  second  day  of  December  following,  ground  was  broken  in 
North  Omaha  bottoms  with  fitting  ceremony. 

Present  on  that  occasion  were  Governor  Alvin  Saunders,  Mayors  B. 
E.  B.  Kennedy,  of  Omaha,  and  Palmer,  of  Council  Bluffs,  Judge  Lar- 
imer, Andrew  J.  Poppleton,  Augustus  Kountze,  George  B.  Lake,  Edward 
Creighton,  John  I.  Redick,  Experience  Esterbrook,  J.  J.  Brown,  George 
Francis  Train  and  others,  A.  J.   Hanscom  presiding. 

Telegrams  of  felicitation  were  exchanged  on  this  occasion  between 
this  Omaha  committee  of  arrangement  and  Mayor  George  Opdyke 
of  New  York  City,  as  follows: 

"May  this,  the  greatest  work  ever  projected  in  any  age  or  country, 
prove  a  lasting  bond  of  political  and  commercial  union  between  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  States." 

Another  telegram  from  John  Hay,  Private  Secretary  to  President 
Lincoln,  viz: 

''1  have  not  been  permitted  until  today  to  present  to  the  President 
your  communication  of  the  23rd  of  November.  He  directs  me  to 
express  his  deep  regrets  that  his  illness  will  prevent  him  from  giving 
expression  to  the  profound  interest  he  feels  in  the  success  of  a  work  so 
vast  and  beneficial  as  that  which  you  are  about  to  inaugurate." 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  I  1 

Telegrams  from  Brigham  Young,  Governor  Stanford  of  California, 
Governor  Yates  of  Illinois,  from  the  Mayor  of  Denver  and  others,  con- 
tributed to  the  joy  of  the  occasion. 

Brigham  Young,  then  beginning,  to  be  imperator  of  a  great  industrial 
people,  sent  this  message: 

"Let  the  hands  of  the  honest  be  united  to  aid  the  great  national 
improvement." 

He  gave  his  full  share  of  aid  in  construction  through  the  brawn 
of  his  followers,  until  he  saw  that  the  company  was  bent  on  giving  his 
city  the  go-by,  and  then  at  the  critical  point  in  the  great  race,  he  with- 
held his  aid  until  he  saw  that  the  Central  Pacific,  too,  intended  to  reject 
his  suit,  and  he  must  be  content  with  a   stub  connection  from  Ogden. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Pacific  Telegraph  Company  had  been  chartered 
by  special  act  of  Congress  in  1861,  and  subsidized  to  the  amount  of 
$40,000  per  annum.  Mr.  Edward  Creighton,  of  Omaha,  was  its  chief 
promoter  and  builder,  having  had  charge  of  the  construction  work  of  the 
telegraph  line  for  Western  Union  interests  from  St.  Louis  to  Omaha, 
then  recently  completed.  He  seemed  the  best  fitted  of  any  man  in  the 
West  for  this  further  undertaking.  The  Pacific  Telegraph  Company 
blazed  the  way  across  the  plains,  and  finished  their  line  into  Salt  Lake 
City  with  surprising  promptness  on  June  28,   1862. 

During  the  years  1853  to  I860,  Henry  C.  Farnam,  Dr.  Thomas  C. 
Durant,  with  Grenville  M.  Dodge,  and  Peter  A.  Dey  in  charge,  were 
building  the  Mississippi  &  Missouri  Railroad  (later  the  Chicago,  Rock 
Island  &  Pacific  Railway),  across  the  State  of  Iowa  to  the  Missouri 
River.  Under  the  inspiration  of  the  agitation  and  assurance  of  coming 
Government  aid  for  a  Pacific  railway,  Mr.  Dey  was  detached  from  his 
Iowa  field  work  and  sent  by  Farnam  over  the  proposed  "Central" 
route  for  reconnaissance  and  report  of  the  conditions  along  the  Platte 
Valley  route;  the  "Imperial  Parallel"  of  41/^  degrees,  which  later 
surveys  sustained  as   the  nation's  natural  highway,   as  now  used. 

The  information  at  hand  made  Thomas  C.  Durant  the  first  and  best 
acquainted  railroad  builder  in  the  country  with  what  was  to  be  under- 
taken, pending  the  Government  aid,  which  came,  as  anticipated,  in 
July  1862. 

(NOTE)  "In  1862,  after  the  Chicago  convention  organizing  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad  Company,  I  was  sent  by  Henry  Farnam  to  reconnoiter  the  route  from  the 
Missouri  River  to  the  Salt  Lake  Valley — General  Dodge  had,  in  1861 ,  raised  a  regiment 
and  was  continuously  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  until  1865.  In  1862  Thomas 
C.  Durant  had  not  interested  himself  in  the  Union  Pacific."  "The  papers  covering  the 
examination  of  the  line  and  the  report  were  turned  over  to  Mr.  Durant  in  the  fall  of 
1863  by  Mr.  Farnam,  as  the  latter  then  retired  from  active  railroad  construction." 
(Extract  from  Mr.  Dey's  autograph  memorandum.) 


12  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

These  war-troubled  days  were  fast  absorbing  the  resources  of  the 
people;  capital  under  private  reserve  was  timid;  the  Government's 
appropriation  of  alternate  sections  of  public  land  through  a  ten  mile 
strip  each  side  of  the  proposed  line  and  its  gift  of  gold-bearing  bonds  of 
sixteen  thousand,  thirty-two  thousand  and  forty-eight  thousand  dollars 
per  mile — according  to  location — was  found  inadequate  and  unattrac- 
tive to  men  in  high  places  of  finance;  stock  subscription  books  had  been 
opened,  but  the  money  for  construction  expenses  was  not  forthcoming. 

The  funds  for  final  survey  of  the  line  to  the  junction  of  the  North 
and  South  Platte  Rivers  (near  where  North  Platte  city  is  now  located) 
had  been  found  and  contracts  for  short  distances  out  of  Omaha  were 
under  negotiation. 

One  of  the  original  surveys  carried  the  line  directly  west  from  Omaha 
to  the  Elkhorn  River.  This  cross-country  line  had  been  established 
by  Peter  A.  Dey,  engineer  in  charge;  another  line  had  been  located 
around  the  Mud  Creek  route,  via  Papillion,  known  in  those  days  as 
the  "Ox-Bow  Route.'' 

Nebraska's  first  territorial  legislature  of  1855  did  two  distinguishing 
things  deserving  of  mention,  and  but  two.  Its  first  Act  located  the 
Capital  of  Omaha;  the  second  measure  acted  upon  was  a  resolution 
memorializing  Congress  in  behalf  of  a  Pacific  railway. 

Thomas  B.  Cumming,  acting  Territorial  Governor,  in  a  message 
read  January  16,  1855,  said  in  part:  "As  an  enterprise  of  such  absolute 
necessity,  as  a  means  of  intercommunication  between  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  States  and  as  a  purveyor  of  a  lucrative  commerce  with 
India,  China  and  the  Pacific  Islands;  among  these  are  the  facts  that  the 
Valley  of  the  Platte  is  on  the  nearest  and  most  direct  continuous  line 
from  the  commercial  metropolis  of  the  East  by  railroad  and  the  Great 
Lakes,  through  the  most  practical  mountain  passes  to  the  metropolis 
of  the  West;  that  it  is  fitted  by  nature  for  an  easy  grade  and  that  it  is 
central  and  convenient  to  the  great  majority  of  grain-growing  states 
of  the  Northern  portion  of  the  Union,  being  in  latitude  41  degrees  north, 
it  seems  to  me  to  be  the  desire  of  the  friends  of  this  great  enterprise,  one 
of  the  most  prominent  and  important  of  all  measures  of  National  develop- 
ment upon  the  continent  now  under  consideration  of  the  people  of  the 

NOTE:  (This  manuscript,  in  the  rough,  was  submitted  to  Mr.  Peter  A.  Dey 
on  Friday,  October  15,  1909,  at  his  home  in  Iowa  City,  Iowa,  where  Mr.  Dey  was  pres- 
ident of  the  First  National  Bank.  He  was  considerate  enough  to  read,  correct  and 
approve  this  paper,  and  we,  here  and  now,  make  acknowledgment  of  the  great  favor 
he  has  done  in  setting  us  right  on  many  points  of  doubt  and  incidents  connected  with 
the  early  surveys  and  construction  of  the  Pacific  railways,  which  he  remembered  and 
reviewed  most  vividly  and  interestingly;  and  we  are  indebted  to  him  for  several  auto- 
graph statements  worthy  of  place  in  this  record,  which  we  have  been  glad  to  give  them 
elsewhere  in  their  proper  chronological  connection  under  quotation  credit.) 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  1  3 

United  States  *  *  *  *  and  I  sincerely  hope  and  believe  that  your 
legislative  memorial  to  Congress  may  have  its  legitimate  weight  in  the 
decision  of  a  question  of  such  momentous  interest/' 

The  joint  legislative  committee  to  whom  this  bill  was  referred  said 
in  their  report  as  follows: 

"The  Valley  of  the  Platte  is  well  known  to  the  West,  it  being  the  great 
highway  through  which  nine-tenths  of  the  overland  emigration  passes 
enroute  to  the  Pacific.  Those  coming  via  St.  Louis  travel  by  water 
up  the  Missouri  River  to  Independence,  Weston,  St.  Joseph  and  Council 
Bluffs  and,  uniting  at  these  points  with  those  who  come  by  land  from 
the  east,  pursue  their  way  westward  by  converging  lines  that  unite  in 
the  Platte  Valley  at  various  points  within  200  miles,  a  little  north  of  a 
due  line  west  from  Omaha,  Bellevue  and  Florence  *****  starting 
from  more  westerly  points  on  the  Missouri  River,  there  is  less  of  land 
travel  than  by  any  other  route.  There  is  a  better  connecting  line  of 
good  water,  wood,  stone,  coal,  soil  and  grass,  than  can  be  found  on  any 
other  route.  This  route  lies  also  in  the  zone  of  the  earth's  surface  where 
the  greatest  variety  of  useful  articles. can  be  produced;  where  men  are 
capable  of  the  greatest  endurance  and  where  the  greatest  population 
and  wealth  are  most  likely  to  accumulate.'* 

While  other  states,  political  and  industrial  organizations,  had 
memorialized  Congress  from  time  to  time,  the  perfervid  pleadings  of 
all  Nebraska's  Governors,  from  Cumming  to  Saunders,  for  Government 
help  in  the  construction  of  a  Transcontinental  Railway  did  more  than 
any  one  other  agency,  perhaps,  to  change  certain  men  prominent  in 
the  affairs  of  the  nation  and  enlist  them  in  its  cause  and,  finally,  to  cement 
them  to  the  sentiment  that  the  Pacific  railway  must  be  built  to  "Keep 
our  country  together."  This  general  agitation  brought  the  people 
to  a  correct  conclusion  that  a  Pacific  railway  could  not  be  built  with 
private  capital,  unaided  by  the  Government;  that  the  Government  should 
give  one-half  of  the  funds  necessary,  as  a  loan,  and  would  then  be  merely 
doing  the  least  part  of  the  whole;  that  the  economics  of  transportation 
of  Government   troops  and  supplies  would  be  compensatory. 

The  Honorable  Henry  Wilson,  speaking  for  a  Pacific  Railway  Bill 
in  the  37th  Congress,  had  said  in  explaining  his  vote:  "1  give  no  grudg- 
ing vote  in  appropriating  either  money  or  land;  I  would  give  one  hundred 
million  dollars  to  build  the  road  and  do  it  cheerfully  and  think  1  had  done 
a  great  thing  for  my  country.  What  are  seventy-five  or  a  hundred 
millions  in  opening  a  railroad  across  the  Central  Regions  of  this  Conti- 
nent that  shall  connect  the  people  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  and  bind 
us  together?     Nothing!     As  to  the  lands,  I  do  not  grudge  them." 


1  4  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

Working  along  the  same  lines,  quietly  but  untiringly,  were  a  little 
coterie  of  Calif ornians,  meeting  when  they  could  at  the  'Frisco  stores  of 
Huntington  &  Hopkins,  Hardware,  or  at  the  Crocker  Brothers,  Dry 
Goods,  or  Stanford's  Grocery.  Under  the  inspiring  genius  and  moni- 
torial guidance  of  Theodore  D.  Judah,  they  discussed  the  chimerical 
scheme — or  dream — of  a  railroad  through  the  mountains  to  the  East. 

On  the  twenty-second  day  of  February,  1863,  ground  was  broken 
at  Sacramento  and  Central  Pacific  construction  opened.  Governor 
Stanford  presiding. 

The  names  of  these  men:  Collis  P.  Huntington,  Mark  Hopkins, 
Charles  and  Edward  B.  Crocker,  with  Cornelius  Cole,  a  San  Francisco 
editor,  and  Leland  Stanford,  are  of  ineffaceable  record  in  Pacific  Slope 
History,  men  oi  national  note  in  their  day. 

The  Central  Pacific  Railway  was  the  vehicle  of  their  fame  and 
fortune.  Theodore  D.  Judah  was  its  chief  advocate  and  later  its  chief 
engineer;  he  led,  while  most  others  falteringly  followed,  and  the  saddest 
reflection  of  all  is  the  unaccountable  oblivion  into  which  his  name 
has  fallen. 

Theodore  D.  Judah  was  the  composite  Durant  and  Dodge  of 
Central  Pacific  history.  Has  it  come  to  this  among  men,  that  there  can 
be   no  industrial  fame  without   fortune   and   all   its   attending  caprice? 

Eighteen  hundred  and  sixty  found  more  than  a  half  million  people 
who  had  pioneered  into  the  Western  States  and  Territory.  Then  less 
than  50  miles  of  railway  had  been  built  west  of  the  Missouri  River  to 
serve  them,  and  not  to  exceed  250  miles  of  telegraph. 

The  enormity  of  the  undertaking  and  its  discouragements  will  be 
better  understood  after  reminding  the  reader  that  the  whole  route  was 
practically  devoid  of  any  construction  material  except  the  soil  for  the 
grade.  Six  and  a  quarter  million  ties  were  needed  and  they  must  be 
hewn  from  trees  felled  in  Michigan  and  Pennsylvania  or  throughout 
the  River  Valley  regions  of  the  South;  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
tons  of  iron  rails  and  their  fittings;  all  bridge  and  structural  supplies 
must  be  wagoned  by  bull  team  from  Central  Iowa,  at  a  staggering  cost 
and  a  shipping  uncertainty  almost  intolerable  to  contractors;  gold  was 
at  a  50%  premium;  war  time  stringency;  labor  scarce  and  exacting  and 
a  frontier  field  dangerous  from  Indian  depredations,  still  no  such  record 
for  rapid  construction  has  ever  been  made  in  the  country's  history. 

Exactly  three  years,  six  months  and  ten  days  built  the  road. 

Mr.  Dey's  natural  engineering  choice  was  for  a  route  that  would 
bridge  the  Missouri  River  at  Childs  Mills  or  Bellevue,  using  the  route 
of  the  Papillion  Valley  to  the  Elkhorn,  and  avoiding  the  objectionable 
grade  and  cuts   through   the  hills  of   any  line  west  from  Omaha,   but 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  1  5 

President  Lincoln  had  designated  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Missouri 
River,  opposite  Omaha,  as  the  terminus.  So  as  between  the  two  routes 
through  this  Missouri  River  gateway,  one  directly  west,  and  the  other 
via  the  Ox-Bow,  Engineer  Dey  stood  preferentially  and  unchangeably 
for  the  short  cut  to  Elkhorn,  on  which,  grading  to  the  amount  of  $100,000 
was  later  done. 

Incidentally,  the  necessity  of  return  to  this  cross  route,  or  Lane 
Cut-off  of  today  (opened  for  business  May  15,  1908),  is  a  silent,  but 
substantial,  compliment  to  the  wisdom  of  the  original  survey,  vindicating 
Mr.  Dey,  who  has  lived  to  see  it  built. 

On  the  7th  day  of  March,  1864,  President  Lincoln  made  his  second 
and  more  definite  executive  order  locating  the  terminus  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Railway,  "On  the  Western  boundary  of  Iowa,  east  of,  and  oppo- 
site, the  east  line  of  Section  10,  Township  13,  North  of  Range  13,  east 
of  the  Sixth  principal  meridian  in  the  Territory  of  Nebraska,  within  the 
limits  of  the  township  in  Iowa,  opposite  the  town  of  Omaha,  Nebraska/' 

The  work  of  further  construction  is  found  under  suspense,  pending 
further  congressional  assistance,  which  came  on  July  2,  1864.  It, 
among  other  things,  doubled  the  land  grant  and  permitted  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  Company  to  issue  first  mortgage  bonds,  equal  in  amount 
to  the  bonds  the  Government  had  authorized,  and  relegated  the  Govern- 
ment bonds  to  a  second  lien  on  the  property.  It  provided  further 
for  the  condemnation  of  a  two  hundred  foot  right  of  way,  through 
lands  under  private  ownership  or  control,  and  permitted  the  Leaven- 
worth, Pawnee  &  Western  Railroad  Company,  then  known  as  the 
Union  Pacific  Eastern  Division,  to  proceed  and  cross  the  100th  meridian 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas  River,  via  Lawrence  and  Topeka,  and 
continue  to  a  point  of  connection  in  the  West,  and  authorized  the  Central 
Pacific  to  extend  its  line  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  east  of  the  limit 
first  designated  in  preceding  acts;  extending  the  same  land  and  bond 
assistance  to  the  Sioux  City  &  Pacific,  westward  from  Sioux  City  to  a 
connection  with  the  Union  Pacific,   as  had  been  authorized  for  other 

(NOTE):  "The  difference  of  opinion  between  Mr.  Dey,  Silas  Seymour  and  Jesse 
S.  Williams  was  this:  If  Omaha  was  the  initial  point  of  the  road,  a  generally  direct 
course  to  the  Platte  Valley  was  desirable;  the  maximum  grade  from  the  Missouri 
River  to  the  Summit  and  from  the  Summit  west  to  the  Papillion  were  the  same.  The 
question  was  raised,  was  it  correct  engineering  to  increase  the  length  of  the  road  from 
fourteen  to  twenty-three  miles  to  avoid  two  intermediate  grades  of  the  same  percentage, 
while  it  was  admitted  that  under  existing  conditions  it  would  not  be  practical  to  materi- 
ally decrease  either  of  the  four  grades.  *  *  *  For  reasons  that  were  never  explained 
(to  Mr.  Dey)  the  policy  of  making  Omaha  the  initial  point  was  persisted  in,  although  it 
was  developed  early  in  1 863  that  a  line  of  low  grades  could  be  reached  from  the  vicinity 
of  Bellevue  to  the  Elkhorn  Summit,  and  that  the  descent  into  the  Platte  Valley  might, 
in  the  not  distant  future,  be  made  without  extraordinary  outlay.  In  the  years  1863 
and  1864  it  was  almost  impossible  on  the  Missouri  River  to  obtain  labor  in  any  line, 
as  a  large  percentage  of  able-bodied  men  were  in  the  army." 

CElxtract  from  Mr.  Dey's  autograph  memorandum.) 


16  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

Union  Pacific  connections  from  the  East.     This  act  also  authorized  the 
bridging  of  the  Missouri  River. 

This  Sioux  City  &  Pacific  Hne  was  built  into  Fremont  during  the 
fall  of  1868;  the  Union  Pacific  reached  there  on  the  24th  of  January,  1866. 
The  Act  of  1862,  creating  the  Union  Pacific  Company,  directed 
that  the  Board  should  meet  in  Chicago  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  September, 
1862,  for  organization,  which  was  done,  and  William  B.  Ogden,  of  Illinois 
was  chosen  its  first  president.  In  this  connection  a  chronological  list 
of  all  the  presidents  will  be  interesting  to  the  student. 

September,  1862   .       .       .  William  B.  Ogden 

October,  1863 JohnA.  Dix 

June,  1 868 Oliver  Ames 

April,  1871 Thomas  A.  Scott 

March,  1872 Horace  F.  Clark 

July,  1873         John  Duff 

June,  1 874 Sidney  Dillon 

June,  1884 Chas.  F.  Adams 

December,  1890 Sidney  Dillon 

May,  1892 S.  H.H.Clark 

January,  1898 Horace  G.  Burt 

January,  1904        ....         Edward  H.  Harriman 

October,  1909 Robert  S.  Lovett 

October,  1911 A.  L.  Mohler 

July,  1916 E.  E.  Calvin 

A  formal  organization  was  perfected  at  the  next  meeting  of  the 
Board  on  October  29,  1863,  in  New  York  City,  when  John  A.  Dix  was 
chosen  president;  and  Dr.  Thos.  C.  Durant  vice-president,  who  threw 
into  this  great  national  enterprise  all  his  constructive  genius  and  his 
fortune.  Dr.  Durant's  career  with  the  Union  Pacific  opens  and  closes 
as  a  builder.  His  work  finished,  he  yielded  the  *'keys,''  the  curtain 
falls;  he  turned  his  back  upon  the  country  and  the  job  and  never  saw 
them  after. 

Very  little  construction  work  was  accomplished  until  the  spring  of 
1865.  Four  years  of  warfare,  and  preparations  for  war,  had  unsettled 
business  interests,  and  interrupted  the  agricultural  and  manufacturing 
pursuits  of  the  people.  The  whole  South,  which  had  previously  been 
a  very  responsive  source  of  money  supply,  was  under  devastation  of 
war;  but  now  all  Northern  enterprises,  especially  this  one,  had  fallen 
under  the  strongest  sectional  prejudice.  No  building  material  was 
available  east  of  the  mountains;  no  native  labor  east  of  the  Mormon 
settlements  on  the  West  End,  and  all  supplies  must  come  by  rail  from 
Des  Moines,  140  miles  away,  or  Boonville,  the  terminus  of  the  North- 
western; or  via  the  slower,  uncertain  river  service,  closed  in  the  winter. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  1  7 

War-time  prices  for  everything  made  all  contractors  uncertain  of 
their  estimates  and  impaired  their  credit.  Under  these  disheartening 
difficulties,  Mr.  Dey  retired  from  the  engineering  staff  in  1865.  This 
left  J.  E.  House  as  charge  d'affaires,  D.  H.  Ainsworth  followed  as 
Engineer  in  Chief,  while  Mr.  House  superintended  the  building  of  the 
shops  and  completed  the  survey  over  the  Platte  Valley  route  to  the  bridg- 
ing point  on  the  Platte  River,  which  all  the  engineering  skill  at  the 
country's  command  in  latter  years  has  not  been  able  to  improve  upon 
and  in  which  no  changes  have  been  made  west  of  the  corrective  short- 
line  recently  built  to  a  connection  at  Lane  station.  Mr.  House,  who  died 
in  July,  1 908,  lived  to  see  this  splendid  endorsement  of  his  unchangeable 
locations  west  of  the  Elkhorn  River  and  a  greater  portion  of  his  line 
double-tracked. 

The  time  limits  fixed  by  the  Government  for  the  completion  of  the 
first  one  hundred  miles  and  the  time  allowed  to  reach  the  100th  meridian 
were  drawing  uncomfortably  near;  time  was,  therefore,  the  essence  of 
all  further  endeavor. 

On  October  4,  1864,  H.  M.  Hoxie  was  awarded  a  contract  to  build 
100  miles  west  from  Omaha;  the  first  forty  miles  was  entrusted  to  Mr. 
Peter  A.  Dey,  as  engineer.  The  difficulties  attending  have  been  recited. 
Further  discouragements  confronting  were  the  indecisions  as  to  the 
route  west  from  the  Summit  between  Omaha  and  where  South  Omaha 
now  stands,  or  as  between  the  direct  route  to  the  Elkhorn  River  and  the 
Ox-Bow. 

In  October,  1864,  Jesse  L.  Williams  and  Colonel  Silas  Seymour  were 
sent  here  by  New  York  interests  to  review  the  surveys  of  Mr.  Dey  and 
to  report  upon  the  most  feasible  Missouri  River  crossing.  On  their 
return  to  New  York  City,  they  recommended  a  change  from  the  Omaha 
crossing,  designated  by  President  Lincoln,  and  that  the  river  be  bridged 
seven  miles  farther  south  at  Childs  Mills,  or  Bellevue,  where  the  line 
would  intercept  the  Papillion  Creek  valley  and  follow  it  northwesterly 
to  the  Elkhorn  River,  along  a  water  grade.  The  Union  Pacific  manage- 
ment, sustained  by  confirming  reports  made  by  Colonel  J.  H.  Simpson 
for  the  Government,  were  prompted  to  petition  President  Andrew 
Johnson  to  so  modify  the  "Lincoln  Location*'  as  to  permit  of  the  use  of 
this  more  favorable  crossing.  In  this  they  were  successful  and  presiden- 
tial approval  for  the  change  was  given. 

This  is  still  remembered  by  surviving  citizens  of  Omaha  as  the 
"Bellevue  Scare,"  which  aroused  its  people  to  heroic  measures  of  self- 
protection.  Their  protests  prevailed  and  the  Mud  Creek,  or  Ox-Bow 
route,  was  accepted  by  the  management,  and  Council  Bluffs-Omaha  as 
a  crossing  point. 


1  8  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

On  May  7,  1866,  a  joint  resolution  of  Congress  extended  to  June 
27,  1866,  the  time  limit  of  completion  of  the  Leavenworth,  Pawnee  & 
Western  (Union  Pacific  Eastern  Division)  to  the  100th  meridian. 

On  July  3,  1866,  a  congressional  act  passed,  authorizing  the  Union 
Pacific  Eastern  Division  to  designate  a  new  route  in  the  direction  of 
Denver  and  to  file  its  maps  of  same,  when  lands  adjoining  its  changed 
right  of  way  would  be  reserved  in  same  manner  as  if  built  to  the  100th 
meridian,  northwesterly  from  Topeka  as  originally  intended  under  the 
act  of  1862,  but  provided  that  no  greater  amount  of  land  in  the  aggregate 
should  be  appropriated  than  would  have  fallen  to  it  under  the  original 
survey,  and  provided  further  that  the  ''said  company  shall  connect  their 
line  of  railroad  and  telegraph  with  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  but  not 
at  a  point  more  than  fifty  miles  westwardly  from  a  meridian  of  Denver, 
Colorado/' 

This  act  of  July  3rd  further  authorized  the  Union  Pacific  company, 
with  the  consent  and  approval  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  to  con- 
tinue its  road  from  Omaha  until  it  met  the  Central  Pacific,  and  likewise 
authorized  the  Central  Pacific  Company  of  California  to  continue  east- 
ward until  it  met  the  Union  Pacific. 

Credit  Mobilier 

The  Credit  Mobilier  was  chartered  in  Pennsylvania  early  in  1865. 
Its  mission  and  its  methods,  much  mistrusted  and  misunderstood,  dis- 
credited from  the  first,  it  drifted  into  dangerous  political  directions  and 
went  down  in  dishonor  two  years  later.  This  construction  insurance 
company  (for  such  it  was  in  purpose)  took  over  the  unfinished  work  of 
the  H.  M.  Hoxie  contract  on  March  15,  1865,  and  carried  it  to  the  100th 
meridian,  two  hundred  and  forty-seven  miles  from  Omaha. 

On  the  capitulation  of  the  Credit  Mobilier,  Oakes  Ames,  on  August 
16,  1867,  took  over  its  unfinished  undertakings  and  pushed  them  with 
record-breaking  rapidity  to  a  completion  at  Promontory  on  May  10, 
1869,  a  distance  of  ten  hundred  and  eighty-six  miles,  where  on  that 
memorable  day,  in  the  presence  of  a  distinguished  assemblage,  repre- 
sentative of  both  East  and  West,  they  met  the  Central  Pacific,  which 
had  built  six  hundred  and  eighty-nine  miles  from  Sacramento  to  this 
point  of  connection. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  review  in  better  detail  the  dates  of  construc- 
tion progress: 

The  first  rail  was  laid  July  10,  1865,  along  the  bottoms  between 
Cut-off  Lake  and  the  grade  leading  through  the  hills  out  of  Omaha 
toward  the  summit,  near  where  Vinton  and  29th  Streets  would  meet 
today. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  1  9 

On  September  22,  1865,  10  miles  were  completed  and  in  use,  with 
material  on  hand  for  a  hundred  miles  more.  The  equipment  on  that 
date  consisted  of  four  locomotives,  thirty  flat  cars  and  five  box  cars. 

On  January  26,  1866,  the  first  Government  inspection  was  made  by 
Chairman  Colonel  J.  H.  Simpson,  Major  General  Samuel  R.  Curtis 
and  Major  William  White.     About  thirty  miles  had  then  been  railed. 

During  1866  two  hundred  and  sixty  miles  more  were  completed, 
and  in  1867  a  two  hundred  and  forty  mile  advance  brought  the  line  to 
the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  or  Sherman  Hill,  8,247  feet  high. 

In  1868,  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  more  were  added,  and 
during  the  first  four  months  of  1869,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles 
of  new  construction  took  the  line  to  Promontory. 

The  report  of  General  Grenville  M.  Dodge,  who  had  been  called  into 
Union  Pacific  service  and  councils  on  May  15,  1866,  as  Chief  Engineer, 
written  to  the  Eastern  owners,  said:  "During  the  entire  construction  of 
the  road,  a  relentless,  determined  war  has  been  waged  all  along  the  line 
by  the  tribes  of  the  plains,  and  no  peace  found  until  we  had  long 
passed  the  hostile  country  and  got  beyond  their  reach.*' 

The  above  statement  was  made  by  General  Dodge  in  reviewing  the 
dangers  and  discouragements  of  the  surveying  parties  under  his  charge. 

He  further  said:  "Every  mile  of  the  gauntlet  had  to  be  run  within 
the  range  of  a  rifle." 

In  1866  began  the  active,  systematic  pursuit  of  final  surveys  through 
the  mountains. 

In  a  report  General  Dodge,  as  Chief  Engineer,  made  to  President 
Oliver  Ames,  on  December  1 ,  1 869,  covering  the  operation  of  his  engineer- 
ing corps  for  the  years  1868  and  '69,  he  said: 

"Was  called  to  New  York  and  instructed  to  finish  locating  the  line 
to  Green  River  by  June  1st,  and  to  Salt  Lake  Valley  the  same  fall,  and 
before  winter  closed  in,  to  develop  the  country  west  of  Salt  Lake." 

General  Dodge  further  said  in  this  report: 

"I  put  James  A.  Evans  in  charge  of  the  location  from  Laramie  to 
Green  River  and  Mr.  Jacob  Blickensderfer,  Jr.,  from  Green  River  to 
Salt  Lake." 

Closing  this  report.  General  Dodge  said:  "It  is  a  wonder  that 
Messrs.  Evans  and  Blickensderfer  were  able  to  find  a  location  in  so 
short  a  time  that  has  borne  so  well  the  critical  test  it  has  been  sub- 
jected to." 

The  original  Charter  authorized  the  Union  Pacific  Company  to 
build  through  Nevada   to   the   California   line;  but  the   Act  of  July   3, 


20  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

1866,  changed  this  and  allowed  the  Central  Pacific  to  build  east  until 
they  met  the  Union  Pacific,  and  gave  the  Union  Pacific  the  same  west- 
bound privilege,  and  the  race  was  on,  both  lines  straining  every  nerve 
to  reach  the  construction  limit  of  their  charters,  under  which  the  Union 
Pacific  had  been  authorized  to  proceed  west  to  the  California  line  and 
the  Central  Pacific  to  come  east  as  far  as  it  could;  naturally,  the  latter 
coveted  Salt  Lake  or  Ogden  as  its  destination. 

The  race  was  to  the  swiftest;  their  grades  met  in  Western  Utah 
during  the  winter  of  1869  and  passed,  paralleling,  until  the  Union 
Pacific  had  progressed  as  far  as  225  miles  beyond  this  meeting  point. 
Meantime,  Congress  was  asked  to  settle  these  terminal  differences. 
Finally,  the  owners  made  their  owft  agreement,  and  Promontory  was 
made  the  junction,  and  for  a  little  time  the  point  of  interchange.  Later,  the 
Union  Pacific  yielded  about  50  miles  of  this  final  distance  and  conveyed 
it  to  the  Central  Pacific  under  sale;  5/s  miles  under  Union  Pacific 
ownership  out  of  Ogden  were  leased  to  the  Central  Pacific  and  stands 
in  such  relation  today,  and  the  remainder  of  the  grade  was  abandoned. 

Leavenworth,  Pawnee  &  Western 

For  description  of  "The  great  Railroad  Wedding — Driving  of  the  Golden  Spi\e" 
see  Appendix  "D,"  page  39. 

The  Leavenworth,  Pawnee  &  Western  was  incorporated  in  1855  as 
a  Kansas  company;  organized  in  January,  1857;  reorganized  in  June, 
1863,  and  under  authority  of  Congress  its  name  was  changed  that  year 
to  Union  Pacific  Eastern  Division.  Its  first  plan  contemplated  a  line 
from  Leavenworth  to  Pawnee  (now  Fort  Riley),  thence  westward. 

Ground  was  broken  at  the  Kansas-Missouri  State  Line  (Wyandotte) 
in  the  summer  of  1 863 ;  grading  began  in  September  of  that  year.  Hallett 
&  Fremont  (John  C.  Fremont)  were  the  contractors  who  undertook  the 
work. 

November  28,  1864,  found  37  miles  built  to  a  point  near  Lawrence; 
10  miles  more  were  built  the  following  year;  Manhattan  was  reached 
August  18,  1866,  and  on  October  7th,  the  same  year,  Pawnee  was  reached, 
135  miles  out.  During  the  year  1867  the  line  was  finished  to  the  405th 
mile  post;  in  March  1870,  to  Kit  Carson,  and  on  August  15,  1870,  it 
was  completed  to  Denver,  the  original  Republican  Valley  survey  having 
been  changed  to  the  "Smoky  Hill  Route,''  west  from  Junction  City. 
After  the  line  had  been  about  half  completed  in  the  direction  of  Denver, 
certain  disaffected  stockholders  sought  to  change  its  course  and  build 
to  Los  Angeles  or  San  Diego  via  the  Arkansas  River  and  a  Southern 
route. 

On  June  26,  1865,  the  building  of  a  line  between  Leavenworth  and 
Lawrence  was  started,  and  completed  during  the  following  winter. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  21 


Ih  1873  the  Kansas  Pacific  became  involved  and  fell  into  the  hands 
of  receivers  C.  S.  Greeley  and  Henry  Villard,  in  whose  control  it  was 
held  until  1879,  when  Sylvester  T.  Smith  succeeded  them  in  control. 
In  January,  1880,  it  was  consolidated  with  the  Union  Pacific. 

Denver  Pacific  Railroad 

The  Denver  Pacific  was  organized  in  November,  1867,  with  Be'a  M. 
Hughes  as  President,  David  H.  Moffat,  Treasurer,  and  F.  M.  Case, 
Chief  Engineer,  through  whom  the  funds  necessary  for  locating,  grading 
and  cross-tieing  the  line  were  either  subscribed  or  secured.  The  Union 
Pacific  had  agreed  to  iron  and  equip  it  for  operation.  Grading  was  com- 
menced in  May,  1868,  and  its  106  miles  completed  during  that  year  to 
Cheyenne.  In  January,  1880,  as  elsewhere  stated,  the  Kansas  Pacific 
was  merged  with  the  Union  Pacific.  The  Denver  Pacific  was  also  in- 
cluded in  this  merger,  making  it  complete. 

History  of  the   Missouri   River   Bridge   at  Omaha   and   General 
Grenville  M.  Dodge's  Connection  Therewith 

A  Union  Pacific  Transfer  Company  was  organized  and  began  opera- 
tions in  1866.  In  connection  with  it,  ferry  boats  were  built  to  insure  a 
quicker  handling  of  Union  Pacific  equipment  and  supplies. 

The  auxiliary  Act  of  July  2,  1864,  authorized  the  construction  of  a 
bridge  across  the  Missouri  River  somewhere  between  Bellevue  and 
Florence. 

As  previously  noted,  General  Grenville  M.  Dodge  accepted  service 
with  the  Union  Pacific  Company  as  Chief  Engineer  May  13,  1866. 
In  a  letter  written  to  J.  Sterling  Morton,  November  12,  1902,  he  said: 
"The  first  orders  that  came  to  me  were  to  make  an  examination  of  the 
Missouri  River  from  the  mouth  of  the  Platte  River  to  Florence  to  deter- 
mine the  best  location  from  an  engineering  standpoint,  for  a  railroad 
bridge  across  the  river.'' 

"I  made  as  thorough  a  preliminary  examination  as  I  could  and  on 
December  3,  1866,  reported  that  from  an  engineering  point  of  view, 
and  taking  into  consideration  the  cost  of  the  bridge  and  approaches, 
grades  and  distances,  the  crossing  at  Childs  Mills  was  the  best.  I  com- 
pared with  it  the  crossing  at  South  Omaha  and  at  the  'telegraph  pole' 
(near  the  eastern  approach  of  the  present  Illinois  Central  Bridge), 
but  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  wherever  the  bridge  was  built,  it 
should  be  a  high  bridge." 

"Upon  receipt  of  the  report,  the  Company  sent  me  additional  in- 
structions to  continue  this  examination,  and  in  making  my  report  to 
take  into  consideration  the  location  of  the  bridge  from  a  commercial, 


22  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

as  well  as  an  engineering,  point  of  view,  bearing  in  mind  that  the  terminus 
of  the  road  and  our  shops  were  then  located  in  Omaha.'* 

''On  January  15,  1867,  I  made  my  report  favoring  what  was  known 
as  the  'M.  &  M/  location,  or  the  location  of  the  present  bridge,  having 
located  the  'M.  &  M/  line  to  this  crossing  point  in  1853." 

General  Dodge  in  an  address  delivered  at  Omaha,  November  25, 
1901,  said  in  part: 

"In  1858,  if  1  recollect  rightly,  on  returning  from  my  reconnaissance 
west  with  my  party,  which  had  been  out  the  entire  summer,  I  camped 
them  in  Council  Bluffs,  and  went  to  the  Pacific  House.  At  that  time 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  visiting  the  Bluffs;  he  heard  of  my  return  from 
my  surveys  and  sought  me  out  at  the  Pacific  House  and  on  the  porch 
of  that  hotel  he  sat  with  me  for  two  hours  or  more  and  drew  out  of  me 
all  the  facts  I  had  obtained  on  my  survey  and,  naturally,  my  opinion 
as  to  the  route  for  a  railroad  west,  and  as  to  the  feasibility  of  building  it/' 

"I  thought  no  more  of  this  at  the  time  than  that  possibly  1  had  been 
giving  away  secrets  that  belonged  to  my  employers  in  this  work." 

"In  1863,  whilst  in  command  of  the  District  of  Corinth,  Mississippi, 
I  received  a  dispatch  from  General  Grant  to  proceed  to  Washington  and 
report  to  the  President,  no  explanation  coming  with  the  dispatch." 

"When  I  reached  Washington  and  reported  to  the  President,  I  soon 
ascertained  that  I  was  sent  there  for  a  consultation  in  regard  to  the 
eastern  terminus  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad." 

"He  had  remembered  his  conversation  with  me  on  the  Pacific  House 
porch  and  under  the  law  it  had  been  made  his  duty  to  determine  the 
eastern  terminus  of  the  Union  Pacific  road,  and  those  of  you  who  re- 
member that  time,  know  what  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  on  the 
President  to  name  different  points  far  north  and  far  south.  After  a 
longer  conversation  with  me,  obtaining  my  views  fully  and  the  reasons 
for  them,  the  President  finally  determined  to  make  it,  as  you  all  know, 
on  the  western  border  of  Iowa  opposite  this  city." 

"That  decision,  in  my  opinion,  settled  beyond  all  question  the  future 
of  your  City  and  your  State." 

An  act  approved  February  24,  1871,  authorized  the  Union  Pacific 
Railway  Company  to  issue  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $2,500,000,  to  cover 
the  cost  of  a  Missouri  River  bridge  and  the  grading  of  its  approaches. 

A  contract  was  made  with  the  Boomer  Bridge  Company  of  Chicago 
in  the  spring  of  1868,  for  $1,089,500. 

On  July  26,  1869,  further  bridge  work  was  suspended  and  not  re- 
sumed until  April  10,  1870,  when  a  second  contract  was  let  to  the  Ameri- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  23 

can  Bridge  Company  of  Chicago,  which  brought  the  work  to  com- 
pletion March  14,  1872,  at  a  cost  of  $1,750,000.  (Then,  as  stated  above, 
came  the  $2,500,000  Capitalization  Act  of   February  24,    1871.) 

The  bridge  built  by  the  American  Bridge  Company  was  known  as 
the  "Post's  Patent;'*  it  was  sixty  feet  above  high  water  mark,  eleven 
spans,  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  each.  The  west  approach  was  reached 
over  a  trestle  sixty  feet  high  and  seven  hundred  and  twenty-nine  feet 
long  and  the  eastern  approach  graded  for  two  miles  on  the  Iowa  side. 
It  was  a  single-track  structure  and  no  provision  made  for  foot  passengers 
or  teams,  which  was  contemplated  in  its  charter. 

On  the  night  of  August  4,  1877,  its  eastern  end  was  wrecked  by  a 
cyclone.  It  was  temporarily  repaired  and  then  used  until  the  close  of 
1886,  when  it  was  rebuilt,  widened  to  fifty-six  feet,  three  inches,  1750 
feet  long,  with  filled  approaches. 

Douglas  County  gave  to  the  original  bridge  company,  $250,000  in 
bonds;  the  City  of  Omaha,  its  station  grounds;  and  Council  Bluffs 
voted  $200,000  and  the  land  needed,  but  never  yielded  the  bonds  to 
the  company. 

Gauge 

Prior  to  1875,  American  railways  were  of  varying  gauge.  Some  in 
England  had  a  seven-foot  spread  between  the  rails;  the  Erie  was  on  a 
six-foot  gauge,  so  were  many  of  the  railways  west  of  the  Ohio  River 
and  throughout  the  South.  Eastern  States  had  established  standards 
varying  from  six  feet  down.  Lines  in  Missouri  were  five  and  a  half 
feet,  but  the  Vanderbilt  lines  and  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  (after  which 
we  seem  to  have  patterned  as  to  grades  and  curvature)  were  four  feet 
eight  and  one-half  inches,   the  standard  of  today. 

The  railways  of  Continental  Europe  were  being  readjusted  to  a  five- 
foot  three-inch  width. 

This  feature  of  gauge-fixing  for  the  Pacific  railroads  was  one  of  the 
most  embarrassing  duties  devolving  upon  President  Lincoln,  California 
having  legislated  a  five-foot  standard — something  at  variance  with  any 
other  gauge  in  use  in  this  country.  The  President  finally  settled  upon 
five  feet,  influenced,  evidently,  by  Pacific  Coast  requirements. 

Senators  Trumbull  of  Illinois  and  Harlan  of  Iowa  joined  issues  for 
the  then  generally  accepted  new  standard  of  the  East  of  four  feet  eight 
and  one-half  inches.  California  representatives  resisted,  insisting  on 
their  standard  of  five  feet,  so  on  the  second  day  of  March,  1863,  the  fol- 
lowing bill  passed  Congress,  taking  the  matter  out  of  the  President's 
hands. 


24  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

"Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  that  the  gauge  of  the  Pacific 
railroad  and  its  branches  throughout  their  whole  extent,  from  the 
Pacific  Coast  to  the  Missouri  River  shall  be,  and  hereby  is,  established 
at  FOUR  FEET  EIGHT  AND  ONE-HALF  INCHES/' 

The  maximum  grade  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  in  1862,  was  116.2 
feet  per  mile,  and  ten  degrees  the  maximum  curvature,  which  under 
the  terms  of  the  original  act  of  1862,  could  not  be  exceeded  on  the 
Pacific  railroad. 

Under  an  Act  of  March  3,  1869,  the  lands,  originally  given  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad  in  aid  of  a  newly-constructed  Denver  Pacific 
branch,  were  transferred  from  the  Union  Pacific  to  the  Denver  Pacific, 
to  better  encourage  the  construction  of  a  line  from  Denver  to  Cheyenne, 
and  the  act  also  authorized  the  Union  Pacific  Eastern  Division  to  ex- 
tend its  line  to  Denver,  there  to  connect  with  the  Denver  Pacific,  and 
further  authorized  the  Union  Pacific  Eastern  Division  to  bond  and 
mortgage  its  line  for  $32,000  per  mile. 

On  April  10,  1869,  a  joint  resolution  of  both  branches  of  Congress 
authorized  the  change  of  the  name  from  the  Union  Pacific  Eastern 
Division  to  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railway  Company. 

Under  authority  of  Congress,  on  January  24,  1880,  a  consolidation 
of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  &  Telegraph  Company,  the  Denver 
Pacific  Railway  &  Telegraph  Company,  and  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railway 
Company  was  legalized  under  the  name  of  "The  Union  Pacific  Railway 
Company.'' 

First  Trains 

The  first  train  of  which  there  is  any  record  was  run  fifteen  miles  out, 
to  Salings  Grove,  in  November,  1865.  Among  others,  it  carried  General 
Sherman,  Thomas  C.  Durant  and  Andrew  J.  Poppleton,  riding  on  flat 
cars  with  nail  kegs  for  seats. 

The  next  was  an  inspection  trip  of  Government  Directors,  which 
left  Omaha,  September  11,  1866,  escorted  by  Samuel  B.  Reed,  then 
General  Superintendent,  General  Grenville  M.  Dodge,  as  Chief  En- 
gineer and  Silas  Seymour,  as  Consulting  Engineer. 

The  Government  was  represented  by  the  Honorable  Jesse  L.  Williams 
of  Indiana,  Honorable  T.  J.  Carter  of  Illinois,  Honorable  Springer 
Harbaugh  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Honorable  Charles  C.  Sherman  of 
Ohio.  They  made  an  eight-hour  run  to  Kearney,  where  Gederal  Dodge, 
Jesse  L.  Williams,  Major  Chesbrough  and  Silas  Seymour  left  the  party 
and  continued  on   to   Denver  by  stage.     Their  errand  was   a  further 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  25 

exploitation   and   report   as    to   the   most   available   mountain   crossing, 
which  up  to  this  time  was  undecided. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  in  the  original  act  creating  the  Union  Pacific 
company,  it  was  required  that  100  miles  of  line  be  completed  on  or  before 
June  27,  1866,  and  the  247  miles  to  the  100th  meridian,  on  or  before 
December  31,  1867.  The  first  100  miles  were  finished  on  June  2,  1866, 
and  by  the  fifth  day  of  October  of  that  year  the  1 00th  meridian  had  been 
crossed,  245  miles  of  the  road  having  been  built  in   182  working  days. 

Accordingly,  invitations  were  sent  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  to  Members  of  Congress,  and  to  men  prominent  in  commercial 
and  transportation  affairs  over  the  East,  to  join  an  excursion  party 
leaving  New  York  on  the  fifteenth  of  October,  to  travel  by  the  New 
Jersey  Central  and  Pennsylvanin  Railroads  to  Pittsburg,  thence  via 
the  Pittsburg,  Fort  Wayne  &  Chicago  to  Chicago.  Government 
Directors,  Jesse  L.  Williams  of  Fort  Wayne,  Springer  Harbaugh  of 
Pittsburg  and  Sherman  of  Ohio,  joined  them  en  route  to  Chicago. 
Williams  and  Harbaugh,  having  been  recently  over  the  line,  returned 
home  after  having  helped  to  complete  all  necessary  arrangements  for 
the  trip. 

At  Chicago  the  party  separated;  some  proceeded  by  rail  over  the 
Chicago  &  North- Western  to  Dennison,  Iowa,  and  staged  to  Council 
Bluffs;  others  left  via  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  and  Hannibal 
&  St.  Joseph,  to  St.  Joseph,  using  two  Missouri  River  packets  north- 
ward— the  "Denver"  with  Captain  Waddell,  and  the  "Colorado"  with 
Captain  Hooper.  Forty-eight  hours  brought  them  to  Council  Bluffs, 
where  they  arrived  on  Monday  morning,  October  22nd. 

Prominent  citizens  of  Omaha  and  Council  Bluffs  were  on  hand  to 
receive  them.  On  the  committee  of  entertainment  were  Governor 
Saunders,  Secretary  Paddock,  Mayor  Miller,  and  Vice  President  Patrick 
of  the  Omaha  Board  of  Trade.  A  reception  and  ball  was  given  them 
at  the  old  Hernden  Hotel,  later  remodeled  and  enlarged,  and  used 
as  Union  Pacific  Headquarters  until  the  completion  of  the  present 
headquarters  building.  Senator  Patterson  and  Government  Director 
Sherman,  Perry  H.  Smith,  Vice  President  of  the  Chicago  &  North- 
Western,  George  L.  Dunlap,  its  General  Superintendent,  Honorable 
B.  F.  Wade,  United  States  Senator,  and  other  notables  of  the  East, 
rejoined  at  Omaha.  Vice  President  Durant,  Webster  Snyder,  Major 
L.  S.  Bent,  General  and  Daniel  Casement,  Mr.  Congdon  of  the  Mechan- 
ical Department,  and  others,  took  charge  of  the  party  West  from  Omaha. 
Their  palatial  train  consisted  of  nine  cars,  the  Directors'  car  in  the  rear 
and  the  "President  Lincoln"  car  (then  the  property  of  Mr.  Durant) 
ahead  of  it;   the  balance,  passenger  coaches,  a  "mess  car,"  and  a  baggage 


26  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

and  supply  car,  were  built  at  Omaha  shops.  The  train  and  party  left 
Omaha  station  at  10  o'clock  the  morning  of  October  24th,  in  charge  of 
Vice  President  Durant. 

After  a  comfortable  journey  they  arrived,  and  spent  the  night  at  Col- 
umbus, where  a  Pawnee  Indian  entertainment  was  arranged.  The  morn- 
ing of  the  25th  at  10  o'clock  they  left  for  the  100th  meridian,  where  the 
train  halted  for  half  an  hour,  "directly  opposite  the  monument  designat- 
ing the  point  where  the  line  of  the  road  crosses  the  100th  meridian  of 
longitude,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  Professor  Carbutt  to  photograph 
views  representing  the  excursion  train''^ — then  west  to  the  end  of  the 
track  at  mile  post  279,  and  witnessed  the  laying  of  800  feet  of  track 
during  their  brief  stay  of  30  minutes,  after  which  they  turned  their 
faces  homeward,  arriving  at  Omaha  in  the  evening  of  that  day. 

Advent  of  Iowa  Lines  Into  Council  Bluffs 

Chicago  &  North- Western Sunday,  January  17,  1867 

St.  Joseph  &  Council  Bluffs  (K.  C.)  ....  December  20,  1867 
M.  &  M.  (Chicago  Rock  Island  &  Pacific)      ....      June    9,  1869 

Burlington  &  Missouri  River  in  Iowa January    3,  1870 

Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul September     1 ,  1 882 

Illinois  Central December  18,  1899 

Chicago  &  Great  Western November     1 ,  1 903 

Advent  of  Other  Lines  Into  Omaha 

Omaha  &  North-Western  (C.  St.  P.  M.  &  O.)      .       .        Summer  of  1869 

Omaha  &  South-Western Summer  of  1 869 

Omaha  &  South-Western  absorbed  by  Burlington  & 

Missouri  River  in  Nebraska, 

Terminus  at  Kearney,  Nebraska Summer  of  1871 

The  St.  Joseph  &  Denver  City  (St.  J.  &  G.  1.)  operated  trains  from 
Hastings  into  Kearney  over  the  Burlington's  Hastings-Kearney  line 
from  April  1,   1874,  to  December  1,   1875. 

The  Missouri  Pacific  reached  Kansas  City  during  October,   1865. 

The  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  reached  St.  Joseph,  February  14,  1859. 

Historical  Incidents 

The  first  locomotive  purchased  by  the  Union  Pacific  company  was 
the  ''General  Sherman,"  Thomas  Jordan,  engineer. 

Their  second  engine,  the  "General  McPherson,''  came  up  the  Mis- 
souri River  on  the  packet,  "Colorado,"  in  July,  1865;  was  set  up  and 
made  ready  for  use  on  August  3,  1865,  with  Luther  O.  Farington  as 
engineer. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  27 

The  first  Union  Pacific  station  building  stood  under  the  hill,  near  the 
foot  of  Capitol  Avenue  and  Dodge  Street.  T.  C.  Morgan  was  the  first 
agent. 

Crowning  Event 

On  August  13,  1870,  the  General  Passenger  and  General  Freight 
Agents  of  the  Central  and  Union  Pacific  lines,  extended  the  following 
invitation  to  the  officers  (and  their  families)  of  all  the  more  important 
lines  throughout  the  East,  as  follows: 

"The  General  Officers  of  the  Central  and  Union  Pacific  Railroads 
unite  in  extending  to  you  a  most  cordial  invitation  to  join  in  a  special 
excursion  of  the  General  Passenger,  Ticket  and  Freight  Agents  of  the 
railroads  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.'* 

"A  special  train  of  palace  sleepers  will  leave  Omaha  fifteen  days 
previous  to  the  sitting  of  the  General  Ticket  Agents'  convention  at 
Milwaukee,  and  return  in  time  to  accommodate  those  wishing  to  attend 
that  meeting.'' 

"The  train  will  pass  en  route,  Great  Salt  Lake  City,  the  canyons  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  passes  of  the  Sierras,  and  other  points  of 
interest,  by  daylight." 

"We  trust  you  will  find  it  convenient  to  join  the  excursion,  and  unite 
pleasure  and  rest  with  business,  while  studying  the  new  relations  exist- 
ing between  the  great  states  and  territories  west  of  the  Missouri  River, 
and  the  older  states  of  the  South  and  East;  and  more  especially  the 
questions  of  necessity  arising  from  the  new  routes  opened  up  by  the 
Pacific  Railway  in  connection  with  the  several  steamship  lines  established 
between  San  Francisco  and  the  Trans-Pacific  ports  of  India,  China, 
Japan,  Australia  and  the  Sandwich  Islands;  and  the  ports  of  the  North 
and  South  Pacific." 

"A  correct  knowledge  of  all  the  important  facts  connected  with  these 
new  developments  can  be  obtained  only  by  personal  investigation. 
Every  railway  on  the  continent  is  intimately  interested.  Union  and 
cooperation  are  required  to  utilize  the  advantages  arising  from  the 
position  of  our  country  in  relation  to  the  carrying  trade  between  the 
continents  on  either  side." 

(Signed) 

T,  H.  Goodman.  G.  P.  A.,  C.  P.  R.  R. 
Francis  Colton,  G.  P.  A.,  U.  P.  R.  R. 
C.  W.  Smith,  G.  F.  A.,  C.  p.  R.  R. 
Wm.  Martin,  G.  F.  A..  U.  P.  R.  R. 

Sixteen  days  later,  the  following  circular  was  issued: 


28  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

Union  &  Central  Pacific  R.  R.  Line 

General  Passenger  Department,  Union  Pacific  Railroad 

Omaha,  August  31,  1870. 
Dear  Sirs: 

Respectfully  referring  to  the  invitation  from  this  line  of  August  15th, 
asking  you  to  join  an  excursion  to  the  Pacific,  you  are  hereby  notified 
that  a  special  train  for  the  conveyance  of  those  invited  will  leave  Omaha, 
September  13th,  arriving  in  San  Francisco  Sunday  the  18th,  or  Monday 
the  19th,  according  to  stops  en  route  which  the  party  may  wish  to  make. 

Returning,  leave  San  Francisco,  Friday  evening,  the  23rd,  arriving 
at  Omaha  the  27th,  Chicago,  the  28th. 

If  you  wish  to  remain  in  San  Francisco  a  longer  time  than  indicated 
above,   you  can  come  earlier   than   the  regular  day  of  starting. 

Joseph  Young,  Esq.,  General  Superintendent  of  the  Utah  Central 
Railroad,  unites  in  the  invitation  and  will  take  the  special  train  over 
his  road  to  Salt  Lake  City  and  return. 

(Signed) 
T.  H.  Goodman,  G.  P.  A..  C.  P.  R.  R. 
Francis  Colton,  G.  P.  A.,  U.  P.  R.  R. 

There  had  gathered  at  Chicago  by  September  12th,  a  representative 
party  of  eastern  and  southern  railway  traffic  officers.  With  "patronage" 
divided  among  the  various  lines,  they  proceeded  to  Council  Bluffs, 
arriving  at  ten  o'clock,  the  morning  of  the  13th. 

They  ferried  the  river  to  the  Omaha  side  and  were  met  by  a  com- 
mittee of  the  common  council  and  shown  about  the  City;  at  noon  were 
lunched  at  the  Wyoming  House,  where  E.  A.  Allen,  President  of  the 
council,  welcomed  them.      Mr.  Allen's  opening  remarks  were  as  follows: 

''Gentlemen;  the  train  leaves  at  twelve-twenty;  we  will  do  the 
talking;  we  expect  you  to  do  the  eating." 

From  this  luncheon  they  were  taken  directly  to  the  train  made  up 
of  five  Pullman  palace  drawing-room  and  sleeping  cars,  one  smoking 
car,  a  baggage  car,  and  two  coaches  with  a  stationary  organ,  couches 
and  easy  chairs — "All  of  them  palaces  of  luxury  and  comfort." 

At  noon  on  Friday  they  arrived  at  Ogden,  the  terminus  of  the  Union 
Pacific,  and  were  transferred  to  the  Utah  Central  for  Salt  Lake  City. 
The  first  view  of  Great  Salt  Lake  and  its  Valley  inspired  the  following 
beautiful  description,  worthy  of  review: 

"Beyond  it,  for  many  miles,  stretched  the  green,  flowery  valley, 
with  its  blue  lake  shimmering  in  the  sun,  and  bounded  at  last  by  an 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  29 

abrupt  wall  of  mountain.  On  our  left  still  towered  the  range,  rough 
and  jagged  with  crevices;  its  solid  base  green  and  gray;  its  rugged  sum- 
mits white  with  eternal  snow.  Side  by  side,  grouped  and  blended,  were 
summer  and  winter,  Italy  and  Switzerland;  the  dreamy  Orient  and  the 
restless  Heart  of  the  West.  We  would  gladly  have  spent  days  in  this 
favored  place  of  nature.'* 

On  their  return  to  Ogden  from  Salt  Lake,  they  were  transferred 
from  the  Pullman  palaces  of  the  Union  Pacific  to  the  "Silver  Palaces" 
of  the  Central  Pacific.  Six  of  these  magnificent  coaches,  including 
smoking  and  baggage  cars,  were  provided.  In  addition,  the  super- 
intendent's car,  laden  with  refreshments  and  fruit,  the  gift  of  generous 
San  Franciscans,  brought  up  the  rear.  A  more  beautiful  train  never 
stood  at  a  station  to  receive  a  more  grateful  party.'* 

They  left  Ogden  on  schedule,  on  Friday  at  eight  P.  M.,  arriving  at 
the  summit  of  the  Sierras  at  the  breakfast  hour  on  Sunday,  the  18th. 
Descriptive  of  the  trip,   their  reporter  said: 

"The  ascent  from  Truckee  mingles  the  grand  with  the  beautiful. 
The  first  rays  of  the  sun  added  brilliancy  to  the  landscape  and  tinged 
the  mountain  peaks  with  gold.  All  were  pointing  to  objects  of  beauty 
and  grandeur  as  we  rounded  a  mountain  peak  or  pursued  our  course 
through  a  gorge,  or  darted  through  a  tunnel;  on  every  side  and  ever, 
scenes  awing,  grand  and  beautiful,  passed  before." 

A  stay  of  two  hours  was  taken  at  the  summit,  during  which  time 
"we  enjoyed  ourselves  as  children,  rambling  over  the  mountain,  in  search 
of  lichens,  mosses  and  ferns,  of  which  each  lady  brought  away  a  large 
selection.  Fifteen  miles  more  of  the  same  enchanting  scenery;  the 
long  ridges  of  the  Sierras,  bristling  with  pine  trees  like  huge  chevaux- 
de-frise,  filled  up  the  back-ground.  We  arrived,  after  several  false 
alarms,  at  the  real  Cape  Horn — a  scene  of  sublime  grandeur  unequaled 
on  the  whole  Transcontinental  Railroad." 

At  five  P.  M.  the  train  reached  Sacramento,  where  the  party  was 
joined  by  Mr.  Town,  General  Superintendent  and  Mr.  Corning,  his 
assistant.  The  trip  was  completed  to  Oakland  without  incident;  then 
to  San  Francisco,  where  old  friends  were  met  and  the  time  spent  in  sight- 
seeing. 

Mr.  Neilson,  who  spoke  at  the  Agricultural  Park  Fair  then  going  on, 
said:  "The  Pacific  Railroad  has  been  built  ostensibly  to  accommodate 
the  traffic  of  700,000  people,  residents  of  the  Pacific  Slope,  but  there  are 
2,000,000  others  in  the  golden  lands  of  Australia  and  New  Zealand,  as 
active,  enterprising,  wealthy  and  fond  of  travel  as  are  we,  to  whom 
our  great  Transcontinental  Railroad  is  destined  to  become  an  accom- 


30  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

modation  fully  as  great  as  to  us.  These  colonies  have  an  immense 
passenger  traffic  with  Great  Britain.  Their  traffic  has  hitherto  passed 
along  two  routes.  One,  by  steamer  up  the  Red  Sea,  thence  by  railroad 
across  the  Isthmus  of  Suez,  then  again  by  steamer  up  the  Mediterranean. 
This  voyage  was  accomplished  in  56  days,  at  a  cost  of  not  less  than  $600 
for  first-class  passage.  Second-class  passengers  were  not  taken  along 
this  line  at  all.  The  other  route,  by  sailing-vessels  around  the  'Horn.' 
The  passage  was  a  stormy,  uncomfortable  and  tedious  one  that  averaged 
one  hundred  days  and  cost  $400,  first-class.  The  Red  Sea  route  during 
three  or  four  months  of  the  year  was  so  exceedingly  unhealthful  as  to 
deter  all  persons  not  absolutely  compelled  by  business  to  travel  along  it. 

''For  a  moment  let  us  consider  what  we  have  to  offer  as  a  substitute 
for  these  two  routes.  From  England  to  New  York  we  have  the  finest 
steamers  in  the  world,  averaging  the  trip  in  nine  days.  [Now  less  than 
five  days.]  Then  we  have  our  Grand  Transcontinental  Railroad  with 
all  the  varied  experiences  it  opens  up  to  the  traveler,  accomplishing 
the  space  from  Ocean  to  Ocean  in  less  than  seven  days.  [In  late  years 
accomplished  in  ninety  to  one  hundred  hours.]  Steamers  averaging 
twelve  knots  per  hour  on  the  mild  Pacific,  though  much  less  than  is  now 
steamed  on  the  more  stormy  Atlantic,  would,  nevertheless,  reach  Mel- 
bourne in  twenty  days.  Thus  the  whole  voyage  between  England  and 
Australia  would  occupy  but  thirty-six  or  say  forty  days.  With  stoppages, 
we  would  still  accomplish  the  distance  in  at  least  a  fortnight  less  than  by 
the  unhealthful  Red  Sea  Route." 

Referring  to  a  bill  before  Congress  asking  for  Ship  Subsidy,  Mr. 
Neilson  said:  "It  is  to  the  interest  of  the  railway  men  to  use  their  in- 
fluence to  secure  the  passage  of  that  bill  as,  without  a  subsidy,  no  steam 
line  could  compete  with  the  wealthy  Peninsula  &  Oriental  Company, 
which  was  so  largely  subsidized  by  the  English  Government,  and  takes 
the  mails  and  traffic  via  the  Red  Sea.'* 

Tuesday  was  spent  in  sight-seeing  about  San  Francisco.  Wednesday 
morning  an  excursion  was  arranged  over  the  San  Jose  Railroad,  visit- 
ing San  Mateo,  the  guests  of  Alvinza  Hay  ward;  then  to  Fair  Oaks, 
Marilo  Park,  and  Belmont.  The  following  morning  a  trip  was  arranged 
around  Golden  Gate  Harbor  on  the  Pacific  Mail  Company's  ship, 
"America, '*  and  on  the  "Crysopolis,"  tendered  the  party  by  the  Cali- 
fornia Steam  Navigation  Company. 

Friday,  September  23,  1870,  was  their  last  day  on  the  Coast.  Resolu- 
tions of  appreciation  of  their  treatment  by  the  Central  Pacific  people 
were  drafted  and  tendered;  a  dinner  at  the  Grand  Hotel  closed  the  day 
and  all  further  Coast  incidents  of  the  trip.  From  that  dinner  they  were 
driven  to  the  docks  and  ferried  to  Oakland,  "The  Brooklyn  of  San  Fran- 
cisco," where  stood  the  "Silver  Palace  Train"  to  convey  them  homeward. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  3  1 

T.  A.  Weed,  in  his  farewell  talk  to  his  San  Francisco  hosts,  said 
"No  country  without  these  vast  plains  and  far-rolling  rivers,  snow- 
capped mountains.  Golden  Gate,  and  Union  and  Central  Pacific  Rail- 
ways, would  be  big  enough  to  hold  us  in  the  future/' 

"Gentlemen,  after  all  we  had  read  and  heard  of  this  colossal  enter- 
prise of  laying  the  iron  rail  across  such  vast  regions,  and  upon  and 
around  such  frowning  mountains,  we  confess  our  anticipations  are 
exceeded.  We  are  agreeably  surprised  at  the  completeness  of  your 
grades,  at  the  perfection  of  your  track  and  the  equipment  of  your  road. 
In  these  latter  respects  you  can  favorably  compare  with  our  Eastern 
roads." 

"It  will  give  us  pleasure  on  our  return  to  commend  the  road  for  safety 
and  comfort  to  all  transcontinental  travelers." 

Then  followed  the  presentation  of  a  pin  of  beautiful  setting  to  Mr. 
T.  H.  Goodman,  G.  P.  A.,  C.  P.  R.  R.,  and  another  suitable  offering  of 
the  same  sort  was  given  Mr.  Beverly  R.  Keim,  A.  G.  P.  A.,  U.  P.  R.  R. 
This  took  place  at  Humboldt,  on  the  plains.  The  trip  from  there  to 
Omaha  was  without  particular  interest.  In  a  closing  account  of  the 
trip,  it  was  said:  "And  now  we  have  passed  over  the  Pacific  roads  and 
comprehend  something  of  the  grandeur  of  this  colossal  enterprise  of 
laying  the  iron  track  across  2,000  miles  of  plain  and  mountains.  We 
have  seen  that  the  road  is  a  fixed  fact.  Passing  and  repassing,  we  saw 
it  firmly  bedded,  strongly  culverted  and  bridged,  splendidly  equipped 
and  efficiently  worked.    *   *   *" 

"With  its  Eastern  railroad  and  Trans-Pacific  steam  connection,  we 
saw  that  by  an  enlightened  view  and  a  liberal  policy  on  the  part  of  all 
concerned,  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  far-seeing  statesmen  would 
be  realized  and  the  American  Continent  made  the  highway  from  Europe 
to  Asia,  and  to  the  ports  of  the  North  and  South  Pacific,  with  the  proph- 
ecies of  Thomas  H.  Benton,  uttered  fifteen  years  ago  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  on  the  verge  of  fulfilment." 

Mr.  Benton  had  said:  "The  world  is  in  motion  following  the  track 
of  the  sun  to  its  dip  in  the  Western  Ocean.  Westward  the  torrents  of 
emigration  direct  their  course  and  soon  the  country  between  the  Mis- 
souri River  and  California  is  to  show  the  most  rapid  expansion  of  the 
human  race  that  the  ages  of  men  have  ever  beheld.  It  will  all  be  settled 
up  and  that  with  magical  rapidity;  settlements  will  promote  the  road — 
the  road  will  aggrandize  the  settlements.  Soon  it  will  be  a  line  of  towns, 
villages,  cities  and  farms.  *****  Twenty-five  centuries  have 
fought  for  a  commercial  road  to  India,  we  have  it  as  a  peaceable  posses- 
sion. Vasco  de  Gama,  in  the  discovery  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,*  and 
the  opening  of  a  new  route  to  India,  independent  of  the  Moslem  power. 


32  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

eclipsed  in  his  day  the  glory  of  Columbus,  balked  in  the  discovery  of 
his  well-defined  route.  Let  us  vindicate  the  glory  of  Columbus  by 
realizing  his  divine  idea  of  REACHING  THE  EAST  BY  GOING 
WEST/' 

On  Tuesday,  September  27th,  at  2  P.  M.,  this  distinguished  party 
reached  Omaha  in  safety  and  separated;  scattering  among  the  four 
lines  crossing  Iowa,  they  reached  Chicago  twenty-four  hours  later, 
accomplishing  the  return  trip  from  San  Francisco  in  four  days  and 
sixteen  hours,  which  closed  the  incident;  in  our  estimation  the  greatest 
railroad  excursion  in  our  country's  history. 

The  completion  of  the  Pacific  railways,  Omaha  to  San  Francisco, 
was  made  a  day  of  national  rejoicing,  with  civic  and  military  parades 
in  Chicago  and  Eastern  cities.  But  four  times  so  far  in  our  history  has 
there  been  any  such  notice  taken  of  industrial  achievement:  first,  the 
laying  of  the  Atlantic  Cable;  second,  the  construction  of  the  Erie  Canal; 
third,  the  completion  of  the  Pacific  railways;  fourth,  the  opening  of  the 
Panama  Canal. 

The  present  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  was  incorporated 
January  1 ,  1897,  under  an  act  of  the  Utah  Legislature,  approved  January 
22,  1897,  authorizing  the  formation  of  a  corporation  to  "purchase  and 
operate  railroads." 

This  new  corporation  purchased  all  the  properties  and  appurtenances 
of  the  old  company,  acquiring  them  under  a  sale  made  by  Judge  W.  D. 
Cornish,  Special  Master  of  the  Court,  in  front  of  the  freight  station, 
Ninth  and  Jackson  Streets,  Omaha,  Nebraska,  on  November  1,  1897, 
under   a   bid   of   $57,564,932.76.      (The   World's   Greatest  Auction). 

Up  to  the  spring  of  1899,  16.62  miles  of  second  track  had  been  laid 
on  the  Union  Pacific.  By  January  1,  1919,  974.10  miles  of  second  track 
had  been  laid,  and  4.14  of  third  and  fourth  track. 

In  1899,  there  were  12,178  feet  of  permanent  steel  and  concrete 
bridging;  January   1,    1919,  56,377  feet. 

A  total  of  1  70  miles  of  new  first  main  track  has  been  constructed  on 
new  locations  since  1899,  and  a  total  distance  saved  of  39.78  miles  as 
follows: 

Lookout  to  Medicine  Bow re-alignment  12.03  miles 

Leroy  to  Bear  River "  9.56  " 

Summit  to  Lane "  8.94  " 

Allen  Junction  to  Dana "  3.87  " 

Howells  to  Huttons "  3.11  " 

Rawlins  to  Tipton "  1 .44  " 

Green  River  to  Bryan "  .45  " 

Cooper  Lake  to  Lookout "  .38  " 

Total 39.78  miles 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  33 

Grade  reductions  have  brought  the  roadway  to  practically  a  con- 
trolling maximum  of  43  feet  to  the  mile,  or  .8%;  except  westbound, 
Cheyenne  to  Buford,  where  the  maximum  is  still  82  feet  to  the  mile; 
Echo  to  Baskin,  eastbound,  63  feet;  Omaha  to  Summit,  66  feet;  Carr 
to  Borie,  65  feet.  On  the  Kansas  Division,  Ellsworth  to  Kanopolis, 
eastbound,  90  feet;  Carniero  to  Kanopolis,  westbound,  79  feet.  A  reduc- 
tion in  curvature  has  been  made  from  a  maximum  of  about  12  degrees 
to  about  6  degrees. 

Some  of  the  important  reconstruction  undertaken  has  been  the 
cutoff  from  Summit  to  Lane,  at  a  cost  of  more  than  $3,000,000;  the 
relaying  and  double-tracking  of  the  line  from  Kansas  City  to  Topeka 
and  the  ballasting  of  the  whole  distance  of  67  miles  at  a  final  cost  of 
about  $3,000,000;  the  enlargement  and  modernization  at  a  cost  of  a 
million  and  a  half  dollars  of  the  Union  Pacific  Shops  at  Omaha,  equipped 
throughout  with  the  latest  machinery  of  the  most  serviceable  sort 
regardless  of  expense. 

A  new  Union  Station  at  Omaha  was  appropriated  for  and  made 
ready  very  soon  after  the  new  owners  took  charge — a  standing  credit 
to  the  City  and  the  Company. 

Then  followed  general  work  of  improvement,  enlarging  and  re- 
modeling interior  shops,  icing  plants  and  station  structures  and  the 
expansion  of  Omaha  terminal  yards  with  four  newly-laid  main  tracks 
from  the  west  approach  of  the  bridge  to  the  Summit,  increasing  its 
track  area  44,635  feet,  or  nearly  eight  and  one-half  miles. 

Tie-treating  plants,  with  a  capacity  of  a  million  and  a  half  ties  per 
year,  have  been  built  at  Topeka  and  Laramie,  and  something  of  the 
greatest  concern  to  the  patronizing  public  has  been  the  installation  of  an 
electric  signal  system  complete,  from  Council  Bluffs  to  Ogden,  Kansas 
City  to  Ellis,  Julesburg  to  Denver,  and  Denver  to  Cheyenne.  This 
improvement  covers  over  1,598  miles  of  automatic  block  signaling,  with 
twenty-four  interlocking  plants,  operating  546  working  levers;  all  at  a 
cost  of  three  million  dollars. 

In  order  to  obtain  a  maximum  grade  of  sixty  feet  to  the  mile,  an 
additional  track  was  built,  between  April  and  December,  1915,  through 
Weber  Canyon,  from  Wahsatch  to  Emory,  Utah.  600,000  cubic  yards 
of  material,  weighing  1 ,200,000  tons,  was  removed,  and  several  extensive 
fills  were  made.  Traversing  the  canyon,  the  new  line,  which  has  a  much 
lighter  curvature,  is  some  sixty-five  feet  above  the  old.  All  eastward 
traffic  is  now  routed  over  the  new  line,  which  affords  additional  view- 
points  for   the  striking   scenery   of   the   gorge. 


34  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

One  of  the  notable  engineering  feats  of  modern  times  was  consummated 
in  December  1916,  when  the  steel  bridge  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
crossing  the  Missouri  River  from  Council  Bluffs  to  Omaha  was  moved 
out  of  the  way  and  a  new  steel  structure  was  rolled  into  place  and 
riveted  to  the  former  piers.  This  colossal  operation  was  perfected  in 
about  an  hour,  with  practically  no  disturbance  to  traffic.  The  new 
bridge,  which  weighs  about  eleven  and  a  quarter  million  pounds  and 
cost  approximately  $1 ,000,000.00,  is  the  third  to  occupy  the  historic  site. 
Six  railroads  in  addition  to  the  Union  Pacific  use  the  bridge  and  some 
300  trains  daily  pass  over  its  tracks. 

The  property  has  been  re-equipped  with  the  new  rolling  stock  (in- 
cluding power)  of  the  latest  and  most  serviceable  pattern,  best  adapted 
to  its  mountain  and  valley  lines,  for  both  passenger  and  freight  service. 

January  1,  1919,  found  140  miles  of  track  with  100-pound  rail; 
1,960  miles  with  90-pound  rail;  720  miles  with  80-pound  rail;  500  miles 
with  75-pound  rail;  the  remainder  with  rails  of  70  pounds  and  less. 

A  special  page  in  the  appendix  shows  Union  Pacific  equipment  in 
detail. 

The  present-day  press  and  periodicals  have  drifted  into  indulgencies 
characterizing  the  Union  Pacific  as  an  impoverished,  enfeebled  "streak 
of  rust,"  prior  to  what  they  seem  to  designate  as  the  "reconstruction 
period  of  1900."  By  some  it  is  probably  done  for  the  emphasis  of  com- 
parison, others  are  space  writers  whose  utterances  reveal  an  impaired 
memory  or  a  misdirected  pen,  for  there  has  never  been  an  hour  since  the 
10th  day  of  May,  1869,  when  this  railroad  and  its  companion  line,  the 
Central  Pacific,  have  not  been  well  abreast  of  the  times  and  maintained 
its  creditable  physical  condition  throughout  all  the  states  and  territories 
they  served.  Wisely  and  well-built  and  equipped  from  the  first,  they 
have  been  kept  so. 

The  pioneer  "Hotel  train  of  1870"*  which  left  Council  Bluffs  every 
Thursday  at  eight  A.  M.,  with  a  six  P.  M.  arrival  at  Ogden  on  Saturday, 
carried  the  first  sleeping  and  dining-car  service  across  the  plains. 

The  Union  Pacific  was  the  first  in  the  far  west  to  install  tourist 
sleepers  to  the  Coast  over  its  lines  and  those  of  its  co-operating  connec- 
tions; the  first  line  west  of  the  Missouri  River  to  equip  its  through  trains 
with  dining-car  service;  and  took  the  first  dining  cars  into  the  City  of 
Denver. 

*See  Appendix  "C" 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  35 

The  Union  and  Central  Pacific  led  all  lines  to  the  Coast  with  their 
palatial  vestibuled  "Golden  Gate  Special"  in  1888-9;  library,  barber 
chair,  and  bath — an  exclusive  Golden  Limited,  of  Pullman's  best 
creation. 

It  was  also  the  first  line  to  start  exclusive,  expedited  mail  trains  and 
today  handles  one  of  the  heaviest  special  mail  routes  in  the  United  States. 

As  early  as  1888  the  Union  Pacific  began  ballasting  with  Sherman 
gravel,  which  has  given  it  one  of  the  smoothest  and  cleanest  road  beds  in 
America. 

The  first  Sherman  gravel  went  down  between  mile  4.53  and  4.80; 
Sherman  gravel  ballasting  began  actively  under  the  presidency  of  S.  H. 
H.  Clark  in  1892,  and  was  under  suspense  only  during  a  part  of  its  re- 
ceivership period. 

The  Union  Pacific  was  the  first  to  semaphore  its  railroad  cross- 
ings and  the  first  in  this  field  to  electric  light  its  trains  and  engines; 
the  first  to  equip  itself  with  electric  block  and  interlocking  plants,  the 
first  to  double-track  its  line  and  the  first  to  install  composite  telephones 
along  its  railway  wires. 

There  has  never  been  a  year  when  the  Union  Pacific,  Denver  Pacific 
and  Kansas  Pacific,  taken  together,  have  not  been  self-sustaining. 

They  went  down  and  into  receivership  on  October  13,  1893,  under 
the  weight  of  their  outside  obligations,  such  as  the  Union  Pacific,  Denver 
&  Gulf;  Fort  Worth  &  Denver  City,  and  some  other  lines  whose  secur- 
ities they  had  guaranteed. 

The  receivership  was  essentially  heneficia  dissimulata;  something 
of  this  sort  was  necessary  to  relieve  them  lawfully  and  effectually  from 
Government  interlacement  of  interests  and  to  free  them  from  side  lines 
sapping  their  substance.  It  was,  therefore,  a  process  of  filtration  and 
refinement  unregretted.  ^>  ~ 

The  fertility  and  dependable  earning-power  of  this  great  property 
soon  passed  within  range  of  the  keen  discernment  of  Mr,  Edward  H. 
Harriman,  and  seemingly  stood  first  in  his  favor.  It  has  been  splendidly 
responsive  to  the  quickening  touch  of  his  master  hand. 

A  Napoleonic  spirit  of  enterprise  distinguished  Mr.  Harriman  and 
his  associate  owners  and  managers  among  all  others  in  the  field  of  Ameri- 
can transportation. 

Without  stint  or  stickle,  millions  were  appropriated  and  devoted  to 
betterments  which  brought  the  property  up  to  its  present  new  century 
standard. 

It  is  a  matter  of  greatest  regret  with  the  people  of  the  west  that  our 
late  President  could  not  have  been  longer  spared  to  see  the  full  fruition 
of  this  magnificent  investment;   for  he  builded  even  better  than  he  knew. 


36  HISTORY    OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 


Appendix  **A'' 

First    Annual    Report    Made   of    Union    Pacific    Earnings    and    a 
Comparison  with  the  Present  Earnings 

The  first  report  was  made  by  T.  E.  Sickles,  Chief  Engineer  and 
General  Superintendent,  for  the  calendar  year  of  1870.  The  figures 
shown  in  comparison  are  from  the  Annual  Report  for  the  calendar  year 
of  1918. 

1870  1918 

(Calendar)  (Calendar) 

Freight  earnings $3,058,514.71  $72,679,801.68 

Passenger  earnings 3.818.627.55  18,055.066.36 

Mail  earnings 274.513.58  1,662.821.56 

Express  earnings 281.691.76  2.250.888.28 

Miscellaneous  earnings 191.929.53  3.794.787.10 


Total $7,625,277.13  $98,443,364.98 

Passengers  carried 142,623  4.957.924 

Tons  freight  one  mile— local 51,670,294  772,962,861 

Tons  freight  one  mile— through 20,108.812  8.772.024.951 

Tons  freight  one  mile— total 71.779,106  9,544,987.812 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 


37 


Appendix    **B'' 

Comparison  of  Equipment  Owned  by  the  Union 
Pacific  at  the  End  of  the  Calendar  Year  of 
1870  and  the  End  of  the  Calendar  Year  of  1918 


MOTIVE  POWER 


Calendar  Year  1870 


Passenger  engines 27 

Freight  engines 118 

Switch  engines 5 

Total 150 


Calendar  Year  1918 
U.  P.  R.  R.  and  O.  S.  L.  R.  R. 

Passenger  engines 369 

Freight  engines 756 

Switch  engines 1 89 


Total 


1.314 


CARS 


Coaches 40 

Baggage  cars 11 

Mail  cars 8 

Express  cars 8 

Pay  cars 2 

Officers'  cars 2 

Lincoln  car 1 

Emigrant  cars 22 

Cabooses 62 

Wreckers  and  derrick  cars 6 

Flat  cars 1 , 1 65 

Box  cars 1,154 

Stock  cars 48 

Dump  cars 52 


fNow  included  with  baggage  cars. 
*Now  included  with  coal  cars. 


Coaches 171 

Baggage  cars 1 93 

Mail  cars 11 

Express  cars f 

Pay  cars 

Officers'  cars 21 

Lincoln  car 

Emigrant  cars 

Cabooses 589 

Wreckers  and  derrick  cars 26 

Flat  cars 1 ,563 

Box  cars 1 8,722 

Stock  cars 5,958 

Dump  cars * 

Coal  cars 7,049 

Ballast  cars 2,671 

Steam  shovels 8 

Tool  cars 1  72 

Water  and  tank  cars 177 

Chair  cars 1 85 

Composite  cars 8 

Dining  cars 64 

Instruction  cars 3 

Observation  cars 11. 

Motor  cars 24 

Miscellaneous 59 

Baggage  and  Mail 64 

Baggage,  Mail  and  Passenger 12 

Baggage  and  Passenger 33 

Motor  Trailers 10 

Snow  Plows 28 

Boarding  Cars 1 .900 

Ballast  Distributing 21 

Pile  Drivers 11 

Roadway  Box 237 

Roadway  Flat 376 

Roadway  Gondola 58 

Parlor  Cars 2 


38  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

Appendix  ''C' 

The  Hotel  Train  of  1870* 

Under  date  of  October  26,  1909,  Mr.  W.  A.  Deuel,  then  General 
Manager  of  the  Denver,  Northwestern  &  Pacific  Railway  Company  (The 
Moffat  Line),  wrote  us  from  Denver,  Colorado,  as  follows: 

"The  hotel  train  was  put  on  during  the  Hammond  and  Mead  Admin- 
istration in  the  spring  of  1870.  The  original  scheme  was  to  run  the 
train  and  train-crews  from  Omaha  to  San  Francisco,  using  a  Union 
Pacific  and  Central  Pacific  conductor  on  each  train.  For  some  reason 
the  Central  Pacific  declined  to  enter  the  agreement,  and  the  Union 
Pacific  discontinued  the  train  after  running  it  for  several  months.  Ten 
dollars  excess  fare  was  charged.  The  train  was  very  popular  with  the 
traveling  public." 

Mr.  Deuel  recalls  that  this  "Hotel  Train  of  1 870"  was  of  complete 
Pullman  construction  throughout;  three  sleepers,  one  diner  and  buffet 
car,  and  one  baggage  car.  It  was  a  weekly  train;  left  Council  Bluffs 
every  Thursday  morning  at  eight  o'clock,  and  was  due  at  Ogden  at  six 
o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  Saturday  following.  Returning,  it  left 
Ogden  Monday  morning,  arriving  at  Omaha  Wednesday  evening.  It 
was  double-crewed,  having  two  conductors  and  baggagemen  and  four 
brakemen.  Mr.  Deuel,  who  was  its  first  conductor,  handled  the  train 
to  North  Platte  and  was  there  relieved  by  Conductor  Heath,  who  took 
charge  of  the  train  from  North  Platte  to  Laramie.  At  Laramie  Conductor 
Deuel  resumed  and  completed  the  trip  to  Ogden.  Each  conductor  was 
supported  by  his  own  crew. 

The  train  was  handled  with  hand  brakes  and  link  and  pin  couplers 
and  was  scheduled  at  an  average  speed  of  twenty  miles  an  hour. 

This  service  was  continued  for  a  period  of  about  six  months  during 
the  open,  or  summer,  season  of  1870. 


*Referred  to  on  page  34  of  the  text. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  39 

Appendix  *'D" 
The  Great  Railroad  Wedding — Driving  the  Last  Spike 

American  history,  in  its  triumphs  of  skill,  labor  and  genius,  knows  no 
event  of  greater,  thrilling  interest,  than  the  scene  which  attended  the 
driving  of  the  last  spike,  which  united  the  East  and  West  with  the  bands 
of  iron.  The  completion  of  a  project  so  grand  in  conception,  so  success- 
ful in  execution,  and  so  fruitful  and  rich  in  promise,  was  worthy  of 
world-wide  celebrity. 

Upon  the  10th  of  May,  1869,  the  rival  roads  approached  each  other, 
at  Promontory,  Utah,  and  two  lengths  of  rails  were  left  for  the  day's 
work.  At  8  A.  M.,  spectators  began  to  arrive;  at  quarter  to  9  A.  M., 
the  whistle  of  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  was  heard,  and  the  first 
train  arrived,  bringing  a  large  number  of  passengers.  Then  two  addi- 
tional trains  arrived  on  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  from  the  East.  At 
a  quarter  of  11  A.  M.,  the  Chinese  workmen  commenced  leveling  the 
bed  of  the  road,  with  picks  and  shovels,  preparatory  to  placing  the  ties. 
At  a  quarter  past  eleven  the  Governor's  train  (Governor  Stanford) 
arrived.  The  engine  was  gaily  decorated  with  little  flags  and  ribbons 
— the  red,  white  and  blue.  The  last  tie  put  in  place  was  eight  feet 
long,  eight  inches  wide  and  six  inches  thick.  It  was  made  of  California 
Jaurel,  finely  polished,  and  ornamented  with  a  silver  escutcheon,  bearing 
the  following  inscription: 

'THE  LAST  TIE  LAID  ON  THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD,  MAY 
10,  1869." 

Then  follow  the  names  of  the  directors  and  officers  of  the  Central 
Pacific  Company,  and  of  the  presenter  of  the  tie. 

The  exact  point  of  contact  of  the  road  was  1,085.8  miles  west  from 
Omaha,  which  allowed  690  miles  to  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad,  from 
Sacramento,  for  their  portion  of  the  work.  The  engine  Jupiter,  of  the 
Central  Pacific  Railroad  and  the  engine  1  1 9  of  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
road, moved  up  to  within  30  feet  of  each  other. 

Just  before  noon  the  announcement  was  sent  to  Washington,  that 
the  driving  of  the  LAST  SPIKE  of  the  railroad  which  connected  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific,  would  be  communicated  to  all  the  telegraph  offices 
in  the  country  the  moment  the  work  was  done,  and  instantly  a  large 
crowd  gathered  around  the  offices  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraph 
Company  to  receive  the  welcome  news. 

The  manager  of  the  company  placed  a  magnetic  ball  in  a  conspicuous 
position  where  all  present  could  witness  the  performance,  and  connected 
the  same  with  the  main  lines,  notifying  the  various  offices  of  the  country 
that  he  was  ready.  New  Orleans,  New  York  and  Boston  instantly 
answered  "Ready," 


40  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

In  San  Francisco,  the  wires  were  connected  with  the  fire-alarm  in 
the  tower,  where  the  heavy  ring  of  the  bell  might  spread  the  news 
immediately  over  the  city,  as  quick  as  the  event  was  completed. 

Waiting  for  some  time  in  impatience,  at  last  came  this  message 
from  Promontory  Point,  at  2:27  P.  M.: 

"ALMOST  READY.  HATS  OFF,  PRAYER  IS  BEING 
OFFERED.'' 

A  silence  for  the  prayer  ensued;  at  2:40  P.  M.,  the  bell  tapped  again, 
and  the  officer  at  Promontory  said: 

''WE  HAVE  GOT  DONE  PRAYING,  THE  SPIKE  IS  ABOUT 
TO  BE  PRESENTED.'' 

Chicago  replied:  "WE  UNDERSTAND.  ALL  ARE  READY  IN 
THE  EAST." 

From  Promontory  Point:  "ALL  READY  NOW;  THE  SPIKE 
WILL  SOON  BE  DRIVEN.  THE  SIGNAL  WILL  BE  THREE 
DOTS  FOR  THE  COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE  BLOWS." 

For  a  moment  the  instrument  was  silent,  and  then  the  hammer 
of  the  magnet  tapped  the  bell,  ONE,  TWO,  THREE,  the  signal.  Another 
pause  of  a  few  seconds,  and  the  lightning  came  flashing  eastward,  2,400 
miles  to  Washington;  and  the  blows  of  the  hammer  on  the  spike  were 
repeated  instantly  in  telegraphic  accents  upon  the  bell  of  the  Capitol. 
At  2:47  P.  M.,  Promontory  Point  gave  the  signal,  "DONE;"  and  the 
great  American  Continent  was  successfully  spanned.  Immediately 
thereafter,  flashed  over  the  line,  the  following  official  announcement 
to  the  Associated  Press: 

Promontory  Summit,  Utah,  May  10:  THE  LAST  RAIL  IS  LAIDl 
THE  LAST  SPIKE  IS  DRIVEN!  THE  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  IS 
COMPLETED!  The  point  of  junction  is  1,086  miles  west  of  the 
Missouri  River,  and  690  miles  east  of  Sacramento  City. 

LELAND  STANFORD, 
Central  Pacific  Railroad. 

T.  C.  DURANT, 
SIDNEY  DILLON. 
JOHN  DUFF, 

Union  Pacific  Railroad. 

Such  were  the  telegraphic  incidents  that  attended  the  completion 
of  the  greatest  work  of  the  age — but  during  these  few  expectant  moments, 
the  scene  itself  at  Promontory  Point,  was  very  impressive. 

After  the  rival  engines  had  moved  up  toward  each  other,  a  call 
was  made  for  the  people  to  stand  back,  in  order  that  all  might  have  a 


HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  41 

chance  to  see.  Prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Todd  of  Massachusetts. 
Brief  remarks  were  then  made  by  General  Dodge  and  Governor  Stan- 
ford. Three  cheers  were  gi\en  for  the  Government  of  the  UNITED 
STATES,  for  the  Railroad,  for  the  Presidents,  for  the  Star  Spangled 
Banner,  for  the  laborers,  and  for  those  respectively,  who  furnished 
the  means.  Four  spikes  were  then  furnished — two  gold  and  two  silver, 
by  Montana,  Idaho,  California  and  Nevada.  They  were  each  about 
seven  inches  long,  and  a  little  larger  than  the  iron  spike. 

Dr.  Harkness,  of  Sacramento,  in  presenting  to  Governor  Stanford 
a  spike  of  pure  gold,  delivered  a  short  and  appropriate  speech. 

The  Hon.  F.  A.  Tuttle,  of  Nevada,  presented  Dr.  Durant  with  a 
spike  of  silver,  saying:  'TO  THE  IRON  OF  THE  EAST.  AND  THE 
GOLD  OF  THE  WEST,  NEVADA  ADDS  HER  LINK  OF  SILVER 
TO  SPAN  THE  CONTINENT  AND  WELD  THE  OCEANS." 

Governor  Spofford,  presenting  another  spike,  said:  ''RIBBED  IN 
IRON,  CLAD  IN  SILVER,  AND.  CROWNED  WITH  GOLD,  ARI- 
ZONA PRESENTS  HER  OFFERING  TO  THE  ENTERPRISE 
THAT  HAS  BANDED  THE  CONTINENT  AND  WELDED  THE 
OCEANS.'' 

Dr.  Durant  stood  on  the  north  side  of  the  tie,  and  Governor  Stan- 
ford on  the  south  side.  At  a  given  signal,  these  gentlemen  struck  the 
spikes,  and  at  the  same  instant  the  electric  spark  was  sent  through  the 
wires,  east  and  west.  The  two  locomotives  moved  up  until  they  touched 
each  other,  and  a  bottle  of  wine  was  poured,  as  a  libation  on  the  last  rail. 

A  number  of  ladies  graced  the  ceremonies  with  their  presence,  and 
at  1  P.  M.,  under  an  almost  cloudless  sky,  and  in  the  presence  of  about 
eleven  hundred  people,  the  greatest   railroad  on  earth  was  completed. 

A  sumptuous  repast  was  given  to  all  the  guests  and  railroad  officers, 
and  toward  evening  the  trains  each  moved  away  and  darkness  fell  upon 
the  scene  of  joy  and  triumph. 

Immediately  after  the  ceremonies,  the  laurel  tie  was  removed  for 
preservation,  and  in  its  place  an  ordinary  one  substituted.  Scarcely 
had  it  been  put  in  its  place,  before  a  grand  advance  was  made  upon  it 
by  the  curiosity  seekers  and  relic  hunters  and  divided  into  numberless 
mementoes,  and  as  fast  as  each  tie  was  demolished,  and  a  new  one  sub- 
stituted, this  too,  shared  the  same  fate,  and  probably  within  the  first 
six  months,  there  were  many  new  ties  used.  It  is  said  that  even  one 
of  the  rails  did  not  escape  the  grand  battery  of  knife  and  hack,  and  the 
original  had  soon  to  be  removed  to  give  place  to  another. 


42  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC 

A  curious  incident,  connected  with  the  laying  of  the  last  rails,  has 
been  little  noticed  hitherto.  Two  lengths  of  rails,  56  feet,  had  been 
omitted.  The  Union  Pacific  people  brought  up  their  pair  of  rails,  and 
the  work  of  placing  them  was  done  by  Europeans.  The  Central  Pacific 
people  then  laid  their  pair  of  rails,  the  labor  being  performed  by  Mon- 
golians. The  foremen,  in  both  cases,  were  Americans,  Here,  near  the 
center  of  the  great  American  Continent,  were  representatives  of  Asia, 
Europe,  and  America,  America  directing  and  controlling. 


Copyright  applied  for  May,  1919 
Union  Pacific  Railroad 


I 


